The Montreal Canadiens are riding high as they charge into the final stretch of the regular NHL season. With just seven games remaining, the Canadiens strengthened their grip on the last Eastern Conference playoff spot with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. The win, Montreal’s fifth in a row, gives them a six-point cushion over the New York Rangers.
Although the game wasn’t a showcase of offensive dominance, it highlighted Montreal’s growing resilience and star power. Despite facing fatigue from playing back-to-back games, the Habs dug deep, relying on stellar individual efforts and a clutch performance from goaltender Jakub Dobes.
Caufield, Suzuki, Hutson Shine Bright
Cole Caufield continues to lead the Canadiens’ offense with consistent scoring. Though his scoring pace has slightly cooled, Caufield netted his 36th goal of the season in Nashville, bringing him closer to Max Pacioretty’s 39-goal franchise high for this century. That goal also pushed him to a personal best of 66 points on the season.
Nick Suzuki, the team’s captain, assisted on Caufield’s goal and notched his 84th point of the year — tying Alex Kovalev’s 2008 franchise mark for the most points by a Canadien in the 21st century. His chemistry with Caufield has been a highlight of the season and a key to the team’s success.
Perhaps the most jaw-dropping contributions, however, are coming from rookie defenseman Lane Hutson. With a crisp, perfectly timed assist that led to Patrik Laine’s 20th goal of the year, Hutson notched his 64th point. That ties him for sixth all-time among rookie defensemen in NHL history. His 58 assists place him second behind only Larry Murphy, who had 60 in his rookie season.
With five games remaining, Hutson is in striking distance of setting a new NHL record for most assists by a rookie defenseman. The Calder Trophy race for the NHL’s top rookie appears all but decided, with Hutson clearly in the lead.
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Holding the Line
Despite their stars shining, the Canadiens were clearly running on fumes in Nashville. The Predators outshot Montreal 36 to 17, dominating the puck for long stretches. But what the Habs lacked in possession and energy, they made up for in grit.
Dobes delivered perhaps his best performance of the season, stopping 35 shots and frustrating the Predators’ attack at every turn. The Canadiens clung to their one-goal lead through a tense third period, showing a newfound maturity and composure under pressure.
As one analyst put it, “It doesn’t matter how you get to 2-1. They don’t ask if it was pretty. They ask: did you win?” And the Canadiens did just that, claiming perhaps their gutsiest victory of the season.
Eye on the Future: Demidov Watch
While Montreal battles for the present, their future also looks promising. Ivan Demidov, the last of the Canadiens’ major prospects not already in North America, was recently eliminated from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs.
Playing for SKA Saint Petersburg, Demidov was the team’s leading playoff scorer, despite limited ice time in a controversial move by head coach and team owner Roman Rotenberg. Demidov’s future is now uncertain, with speculation growing that he might buy out his KHL contract to join the Canadiens sooner than expected. Officially, Montreal must remain uninvolved, but Russian hockey has a way of working around the rules.
Should Demidov make the jump, it would only deepen Montreal’s growing pool of young talent and raise expectations for the seasons ahead.
Playoff Bound?
With a six-point lead and momentum on their side, the Canadiens are now in control of their playoff destiny. Barring a major stumble in the final games, Montreal fans have every reason to believe they’ll see postseason action for the first time in years.
The combination of rising stars, elite goaltending under pressure, and a gritty team-first mentality has made the Canadiens one of the most exciting teams to watch in the NHL this season. The playoffs may be within reach — and once there, anything is possible.
