First period
- Oliver Kapanen gets the first scoring chance of the game by speeding down the wing for an open shot, but goaltender Nikita Tolopilo makes the stop.
- Zachary Bolduc was going to get another one, but didn’t protect the puck well enough to get it past the defenceman.
- Just 5% more effort from Montreal here probably gets them a goal, and the floodgates could open from there.
- The crowd gives Arber Xhekaj a nice hand for collecting the puck in his own zone and flying down the wing for a shot and an offensive-zone faceoff.
- Ivan Demidov pulls the puck to the slot and gets a hard shot off that spills a rebound. Kapanen sees an empty net to shoot at, but Tolopilo made a miraculous save to deny him from scoring.
- That line is looking great, as it often does.
- Kaiden Guhle fires shot off the post. Montreal has done enough to have a couple of goals at this point, but they just have to keep their foot down.
- Suddenly the Canadiens have decided to flip the puck down the ice to get out of their zone, and their momentum has stalled.
- Elias Pettersson opens the scoring after the drop in Montreal’s effort level. They should not be trailing this Canucks team.
- Demidov uses his speed to open a lane for Kapanen, but Kapanen can’t tap the puck in on the far side.
- Montreal will get a power play with 1:51 to play. A chance to not go into the intermission down a goal.
- Noah Dobson replaces Lane Hutson on the top unit to provide more of a shooting threat. It looks like a genius move immediately as Dobson sees the slot left completely open and walks 15 feet deeper into the zone to fire a shot past Tolopilo.
Noah Dobson has all day to walk down main street and bury the PP goal 1-1 game in Montreal
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) January 12, 2026 at 9:19 PM
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- Not wanting to be outdone, Hutson comes out after the goals and breaks a few ankles with some spinning fakes at the top of the zone.
- It was a good recovery from the Canadiens, but after going up 8-1 in shots in the opening half of the period, they were 5-5 to finish. There’s no reason for things to be that even between these teams, and Montreal needs to reassert itself in the second.
Second period
- Dobson flies in and glides across the top of the crease looking for his second goal of the game. More of that from everyone.
- Demidov is having a lot of fun tonight skating in open ice in the offensive zone. He sets Slafkovský up for a nice chance that the Slovak sends wide.
- The Canadiens should probably be winning this game about 6-1, but a Xhekaj giveaway in his zone as he tries a blind pass up the middle creates a chance, and the puck isn’t handled well by Dobeš, who is beaten on the rebound by Evander Kane.
- Alexandre Carrier joins in on Habs defencemen scoring. Alexandre Texier grabs the puck in the high slot and moves it to Suzuki on the wing. Suzuki sends it right back to about the same area, where Carrier is waiting to fire it in and tie the game.
Nick Suzuki feeds Alexandre Carrier and we're tied up again!
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) January 12, 2026 at 9:47 PM
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- Carrier stays on the ice for the next faceoff, and this time he benefits from one of Slafkovský’s setups. The winger waits until getting to the crease to make his pass, and the momentum of Carrier is enough to force the puck into the net for his second goal in 20 seconds.
Two goals in 20 seconds for Alexandre Carrier! Slick feed by Slafkovsky as well
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) January 12, 2026 at 9:48 PM
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- Carrier now has five points in his last five games.
- I get that the Canadiens are having fun creating chances with almost no coverage, but that’s no excuse to abandon all semblance of defensive play in turn. Brendan Gallagher turns the puck over the neutral zone, then Guhle and Xhekaj collide and get beaten by Drew O’Connor, and Max Sasson is able to easily score at the other side of the net.
- This is looking a lot like the stretch in early December when the Habs were just gifting goals to opponents.
- The Habs are now chasing the puck around their own end now. They should be coasting to a big win, but instead are expending energy they need for tomorrow.
- Montreal tries to make four passes with under two seconds left on the clock, and they will go to the second intermission tied with the worst team in the NHL.
Third period
- It’s all defencemen hitting the scoresheet in this one, Just 29 seconds into the third period, Mike Matheson fires a shot just as Texier is sliding across the top of the crease, and it’s 4-3.
Habs put the Canucks in the blender and a Mike Matheson goal makes it 4-3!
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) January 12, 2026 at 10:37 PM
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- Thirty-eight seconds later, Juraj Slafkovský gets the puck inside the right circle and makes it 5-3.
Demidov to Slafkovsky and it's two goals in 38 seconds!
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) January 12, 2026 at 10:39 PM
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- Now the crowd can celebrate. The fans have been waiting five periods for this.
- And there goes the wave .
- Kapanen gets another chance at a goal from point-blank range, but this isn’t his night.
- Well he can have one it seems. The Canucks have had no answer for that line.
Slafkovsky wins a puck battle and Ivan Demidov feed Oliver Kapanen 6-3 Habs!
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) January 12, 2026 at 10:46 PM
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- The Canucks get a power play as the trailing team with just under 10 minutes remaining. Texier is off for cross-checking.
- The Habs kill it off, and it seems that is the last bit of fight the Canucks will put up in this one.
- But wait! The ref gives them one last chance with their second power play of the period, giving them the edge in that category despite being outshot 40-20.
- The homestand will end with a 3-1 record, and the Canadiens were able to reduce the workload in the third period by taking over the game early in the frame.
- Now they head to Washington to take on the Capitals tomorrow.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) Carrierson?
2) I’m glad we’ve emerged from the dark ages
1) The snack of champions
