Patrik Laine and David Savard will be absent again tonight.

This evening, the Canadiens are finally back at the Bell Centre, as they host the Vancouver Canucks.
The big question was whether Patrik Laine and David Savard would return…
But that will not be the case. The two guys will still be missing tonight.Patrik Laine and David Savard will miss a third consecutive game.
Samuel Montembeault will get the start against the Canucks.
— J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontLNH) January 6, 2025More details to come…
The post Patrik Laine and David Savar

Without a doubt, Kirby Dach is experiencing his best moments since his injury last year.
He’s getting his name on the score sheet more frequently in recent games, including scoring the game-winning goal against the Avalanche in a shootout.Kirby Dach in his last six games– 4 goals
– 1 assist
– 5 points
– Two game-winning goals
– One shootout winner
He’s heating uppic.twitter.com/pyNMBkEXdh
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) January 8, 2025 But beyond th

With the Canadiens now in the playoff picture, the trade deadline suddenly becomes quite interesting in Montreal. The club has impending unrestricted free agents (Jake Evans, David Savard, Joel Armia, etc.) for whom a contending team could pay… but if the Habs are still in the top-8 (or close to it) by mid-February, it will be difficult to trade them.
And above all, it would seriously hurt the morale of the club, which is exceeding expectations right now. If the GM gives you the challenge

If someone had told me two months ago that the CH would be in the top 8 of the East on January 7, I must admit I would have had a hard time believing it. Heavy defeats were relatively frequent at that time… and the club didn’t seem like a team in the mix.
That said, with a victory against the Canucks last night, the Tricolore is currently in the playoff picture. There is still a lot of hockey to be played, but we are really talking about a transformed team.
Obviously, there has been

For the first time since 2021, the Canadiens are currently in a position to make the playoffs. Obviously, there is still a lot of hockey to be played… but the team is likely playing its best hockey in nearly four years.
It has been a long time since it was this enjoyable to watch a Canadiens game… because right now, the team is competitive.
That said, even though the team is playing great hockey these days, it’s worth remembering that just over a month ago, they were sitting

Last summer, the death of the Gaudreau brothers shocked the entire hockey community. The two men, who were gathered for their sister’s wedding, were fatally struck while riding their bikes.
Learning that the truck driver was intoxicated only increased the frustration associated with this situation that could have truly been avoided.
That said, since the incident, the judicial process has been ongoing… and this morning, the accused in the case, Sean Higgins, appeared for five minutes

Even though it will soon be 10 years since P.K. Subban was traded, the former defender remains a very popular figure in Montreal. His charisma ensured that he won the hearts of fans… but he was also an electrifying defender.
Sometimes, he may have been a bit too much… but he still had some great years in the city.
Today, Subban is retired, as he now pursues a career in the media. That said, he still loves Montreal as much as Montreal loves him… and this, McDonald’s has

In New York, it’s not working anymore.
The Rangers tried to remedy the situation by trading their former captain (Jacob Trouba) to Anaheim, and Chris Drury (GM) also sent Kaapo Kakko to Seattle.
But it changes nothing: the team has won only six of its last 22 games, which is unacceptable considering the talent of this squad.
It doesn’t stop there, however.
As reported by Josh Yohe (The Athletic), Chris Drury also tried to trade Mika Zibanejad to Vancouver at some point this season.
T

The goaltender Quentin Miller was selected by the Canadiens in the fourth round of the 2023 draft.
We’re talking about a Québécois who was playing in the QMJHL at that time.
During the last season (23-24), Miller was traded from the Quebec Remparts to the Rimouski Océanic… But today we learn that he is leaving the QMJHL.
According to Kevin Dubé of the Journal de Québec, Miller will continue his career in the BCHL (on the West Coast).
And according

The race for the Calder Trophy – as many predicted even before the season started – is exciting at the moment.
Macklin Celebrini, Matvei Michkov, and Lane Hutson are in a fierce battle, and after 40 games, ESPN has published a survey conducted with several journalists to determine who is the favorite right now.
Celebrini leads the race, Michkov is in 2nd place… And in the article, it is noted that Lane Hutson is the clear 3rd choice at present:New NHL Awards Watch!
The actual

Is Nick Suzuki a number one center in the National Hockey League?
Everyone has heard this question at least once.
But with the way he has been playing since the start of the season… It’s hard to say he isn’t among the best players in his position in the NHL right now.
At the time of writing, the captain of the Canadiens is sitting at 27th place among the league’s top scorers (tied with Lucas Raymond).
He is also ranked 13th among the top scorers for centers in the NHL: t

When Patrik Laine returned to play, it gave the Canadiens the spark they needed to start winning again.
And even though his absence for three games isn’t hurting too much, it still stands that the Canadiens must be eager to see him back. After all, he is good… but it would also allow for Michael Pezzetta to be taken out of the lineup.
Because yes, you may have noticed that Pezzetta is not Martin St-Louis’s favorite. His 34 games out of the lineup and his small playing time (4:

If there is one player who steps up in Patrik Laine’s absence, it’s Cole Caufield.
Caufield, who scored three goals in 13 games while Laine was in uniform, has just scored three in his last three games – the three games of 2025 in which Laine was absent.
And the Canadiens needed that.
One might not want to draw a connection between Laine’s presence and Caufield’s performance, but it remains that in 40 games this season, he has 22 goals. And…
While he has thre

On the margin of their victory yesterday (5-4) against the Vancouver Canucks, the Canadiens awaken this morning among the top eight teams in the East in the NHL. They wake up in the playoff picture. That’s better than the mix, right?
The last time this happened (after more than 2-3 games in a season), it was in 2021, the year of the Stanley Cup final. It has been nearly four years since this was last seen.
Right now, we’re not talking about a top-10 pick in Montreal since the mix is

Last night, there wasn’t much action.
The Canadiens beat the Canucks in one of those games.
Here are the results and highlights from the other three matches:The @CanadiensMTL and @BuffaloSabres each required more than 60 minutes to collect two crucial points in the Eastern Conference standings – a playoff picture that now features all clubs within six points of a postseason position.#NHLStats: https://t.co/QjOw8A1tVr pic.twitter.com/dMTQyTAK7g
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) J

The former player of the Montreal Canadiens, Max Pacioretty, is no longer the player he was in his prime.
He has a good build, but has always been known for his goal-scoring talent rather than his physical play.
Now a player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, he fills a new specific role: that of an agitator, or energy player.
The QMI Agency published an article on TVA Sports earlier today about this new role for Pacioretty in Toronto.You have to keep an eye on him now! https://t.co/GOhtjBdSVu
—

In Montreal, Lane Hutson has quickly established himself as a crowd favorite for his performances on the ice. The defenseman is extremely electrifying, and his 27 points in 39 games this season demonstrate the extent of his offensive potential.
There have been good offensive defensemen in town in recent years, but Hutson is particularly electrifying.
That said, Hutson is also a guy who, until now, stays away from controversy. He has the image of a good kid, living with his mother in Montreal thi

These days, things are going well for the Canadiens. The team just completed a five-game road trip during which they defeated the last four Stanley Cup champion teams.
Well, they also lost to the mighty Blackhawks… but it wouldn’t be a trip for the Habs without an inexplicable loss, right?
That said, the club’s victory against the Avalanche was particularly impressive. The Canadiens weren’t particularly dominant that night, but Jakub Dobes was solid and the team’s

The 2024-25 season for Cayden Primeau has been quite tough so far. The goalie, who started the year as the #2 in Montreal, has not delivered the goods in his role.
Today, he is in Laval, as he was not claimed on waivers.
All of this means that his future with the Canadiens organization is, at best, quite unclear. Samuel Montembeault is the club’s #1, and Jakub Dobes is changing the game. We’ll come back to Dobes.
In short, this suddenly means Primeau is no longer an essential piece f

In the past year, the saga of the Arizona Coyotes has finally come to a conclusion. After years of being the laughingstock of the league, the team has moved to Utah.
To be precise, it was all the assets that were sent to Utah, while the Coyotes became an inactive franchise. But in practical terms, it’s the principle of a move.
It is obviously a shame for the community in Arizona, which has seen numerous owners mismanage the organization terribly. After all, the team played in an NCAA arena

Jake Evans is having a great 2024-25 season. In 39 games, the 28-year-old center already has 10 goals and 23 points to his name, approaching his career highs (13 goals and 29 points in 72 games during the 2021-22 season).
But beyond the points, he is primarily a real asset on the penalty kill. And that makes him quite indispensable in the city.
That said, Evans has chosen his year to have a big season, as he will become a free agent in a few months. This means that the Canadiens will have to pay

I have been watching hockey for 30 to 35 years. Probably longer, but I don’t have many memories before the age of six or seven so I didn’t dare to write forty. But I could have…
I have seen some strange things happen on the ice.
But what happened today in a garage league in St-Jérôme the KHL is in a class of its own.
Nikita Dynyak, a player for Ak-Bars Kazan who is in his sixth season with the team (and in the KHL) jumped onto the ice with his cell phone in his pa

If the Canadiens win tonight against the Canucks, they won’t just be in the mix; they’ll be firmly in the top eight of the Eastern Conference, putting them in the playoff picture.
Who would have believed it just a few weeks ago?
The CH has a record of 18-18-3 since the start of the season, giving them 39 points in 39 games. Will they finish the first half of their season above .500?
What could explain this Montreal resurrection?
1. Patrik Laine, who brought energy and hope to everyon

When the news broke, I thought: “There it is, we will now have to deal with analysts and commentators with a French accent during the galas.”
Of course, I am referring to the agreement that has linked WWE to Netflix since the beginning of the month, for the next ten years (and five billion $).
But I was wrong! Good for me!
The WWE – and not Netflix – has decided to hire two additional French-speaking commentators to enhance the broadcast of its events in Quebec: Pat Lapra