Canadiens – Hurricanes: A Bittersweet Victory That Speaks Volumes About the Habs’ Character
Some games leave you with a strange feeling. Last night’s clash between the Canadiens and the Hurricanes at the Bell Centre was one of them. A 3-2 overtime win that had all the makings of a Hollywood script for the Habs, but scratch the surface and it reveals some cracks the coaching staff will need to patch up quickly. Don’t panic—here’s your complete analysis guide to this one.
The story could’ve been written in twenty seconds. That’s all it took for Sebastian Aho to beat Samuel Montembeault on the visitors’ first shot. You could almost hear the collective groan: "Oh no, not this again." We know the script—the Hurricanes roll in, smother the game, and in a minute, it’s done. Except this Montreal group decided, for once, to tear it up. The response was immediate, almost instinctive. Kirby Dach finished off a slick sequence where Nick Suzuki’s pass cut through the defence like butter, and just like that, we were level again.
What really stood out to me was the review of how they handled momentum. We know the Hurricanes—they play a system, they suffocate you. To beat them, you’ve got to be willing to get your hands dirty and win those battles in the trenches. And for a good stretch of the second period, Martin St-Louis’s guys did exactly that. That shift in the offensive zone where the second unit worked the puck for nearly a minute without letting the Canes breathe—that was pure gold. It was on that wave that Juraj Slafkovsky buried the second goal, snapping a shot that Frederik Andersen never even saw coming.
Montembeault: Man of the Match Despite the Late Equaliser?
Alright, let me qualify that. Seth Jarvis’s goal to tie it up with 1:37 left in the third? That was a defensive coverage breakdown the young guys will watch on the whiteboard a hundred times. But without Samuel Montembeault, we’d be talking about a regulation loss. He was on fire in the final frame. At times, it felt like watching a red wall guarding the net. The Hurricanes pushed hard—they fired 38 shots in total. Montembeault turned away 36 of them. That’s a textbook example of how to use a goalie to stay in a game: let him do his job, and he’ll drag you to overtime.
And speaking of overtime—a power play off a questionable holding call. Then it was Mike Matheson, the early-season scapegoat for some, who stepped up. A fake, a laser into the top corner. Game over. It’s those kinds of wins that forge a group. You saw a team that didn’t fold, even when the legs were heavy against one of the league’s most physical sides.
Key Takeaways Ahead of the Next Challenge
If I were to put together a quick guide for the next game, I’d highlight three things I noticed:
- The power play is still a work in progress. Sure, it delivered the game-winner, but before that, the units struggled to gain the zone for over two minutes. Against a disciplined team like Carolina, that’s an issue that’ll cost you.
- Offensive depth is there, but fragile. The top two lines carried the load, but the fourth line got hemmed in on possession. In a playoff-style game, those details are everything.
- Physical intensity. We matched the Hurricanes’ physicality blow for blow. That’s a test passed with flying colours. If the Habs can bring that level of engagement night after night, we’re not talking about a surprise anymore—we’re talking about confirmation.
So yeah, two points in the bag—never a bad thing. But what I liked most is what this Canadiens – Hurricanes game revealed: a team that doesn’t splinter when the wind turns. A few months ago, we’d have lost this one 5-1 after Aho’s quick strike. Last night, we saw character. And that’s the foundation for everything. Now, it’s time to do it again tomorrow, with the same fire, and see if the blueprint for victory is followed to a tee.