First period
- Jakub Dobeš gets the start after a couple of games for Jacob Fowler.
- It’s a rough start for referee Furman South as Mattias Ekholm fires a clearing attempt off the back of his knee. We have to hope he remembers which team did that to him.
- Josh Anderson goes in on a partial breakaway, but his backhand move doesn’t fool Calvin Pickard.
- Juraj Slafkovský’s tips a point shot that gives Pickard more trouble, but the goaltender still makes the save.
- Well so much for the Oilers getting on the refs’ bad side. Montreal takes two penalties on the same sequence as Connor McDavid is cross-checked in the back by Oliver Kapanen, then Slafkovský trips his man at the point. Two correctly called penalties, but you can probably put a one on the scoreboard for Edmonton.
- A strong kill from a unit of Mike Matheson, Alexandre Carrier, Jake Evans, and especially Jakub Dobeš kills off the first 1:19.
- Then Dobson replaces Carrier, and they kill off the remainder. The crowd gives everyone a long ovation.
- The crowd boos as Ivan Demidov goes down, but there wasn’t enough contact for the ref to make that call. He finds one later in the shift for a hold in the corner, and the Canadiens will have their first power-play opportunity.
- The top unit doesn’t have its usual accuracy on its passing, and that spoiled a couple of great chances.
- Brendan Gallagher whacks away for three chances, but the last contact to get the puck in was with his foot, and that won’t count.
- Alexandre Texier is going off for hooking. And Montreal had just evened up the shots after the five-on-three earlier.
- They kill off another penalty, but they’re not going to get away with taking them all night.
- Considering the power plays, it was an okay period from Montreal, still generating 10 shots despite only 16 minutes playing with more skaters on the ice.
Second period
- Demidov charges right at Ekholm as he tries to play a bobbling puck, and the defenceman has to get his stick in Demidov’s feet to slow him down, sending the Canadiens to a power play.
- You see what Ekholm was trying to prevent. Demidov decides to shoot rather than pass as Slafkovský eclipses Pickard on his way to the slot, and Montreal has the lead.
Ivan Demidov snipes one off the bar on the power play, 1-0 #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) December 14, 2025 at 9:12 PM
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- Suzuki goes in on a breakaway, but doesn’t really get a shot off after his deke.
- Dobeš is being very active with his stick in this period to keep pucks away from the crease. It seems like something he’s been working on in his time off.
- Demidov tries to fire again with a delayed call coming, but whiffs. Don’t let that discourage you, Ivan.
- Three more attempts on the power play. The Oilers were more worried about Caufield and he had a few looks.
- Not as effective as the last power play, so it remains a one-goal lead.
- Jake Evans works hard in the offensive zone to help Joe Veleno get the puck off the boards, then teams up with Anderson to put pressure on McDavid, who flips the puck out to the slot. Veleno is the only player there and fires it in.
Of all people, Connor McDavid gives an early Christmas present to Joe Veleno, and he makes it 2-0 #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) December 14, 2025 at 9:27 PM
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- Suzuki gets another breakaway. Stopped again. Hopefully that miss isn’t as much of a game-changer as Evans’s last night.
- After a long shift in the defensive zone, Texier escapes on a breakaway. He tries the same move as Suzuki and Pickard saves his team again.
- Edmonton is getting much better chances now. The Habs are in defence mode with their multi-goal lead, and that rarely ends well.
- Suzuki turns and finds a charging Caufield. He dekes past his defender, then fires a shot off the post.
- Montreal could have five or six goals in this period.
- I don’t know what Anderson was thinking as he grabbed Darnell Nurse in the final minute of the period with the puck heading down to Edmonton’s zone. A wholly unnecessary penalty to end the period, giving the Oilers a chance to get back in the game in the third.
Third period
- The Canadiens have their fourth multi-goal lead in the past three games. They will attempt to hang on to one for the second time.
- Another penalty killed by Montreal. That’s been critical in this game.
- Trent Frederic kicks out Carrier’s feet. The ref standing 30 feet away called nothing, but the one at centre ice picked it up. Montreal can extend the lead to three.
- If they can get into the zone….
- They do. This time Suzuki is the recipient of a perfect pass from Slafkovský and just has to turn his body to the right angle to deflect it in. It’s 3-0 with 16 minutes to play.
Nice pass by Juraj Slafkovsky, basically just banks this in off Nick Suzuki. 3-0 #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) December 14, 2025 at 10:09 PM
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- Hutson adds a second assist on the day and has four this weekend.
- The puck come to Mattias Janmark in the mid slot. Dobeš sprints halfway out to him to cut down the angle and make the save.
- Montreal is being very aggressive on the puck-carriers right now. Gallagher just knocked the puck off McDavid’s stick to turn back an attack.
- They’re also sitting back and waiting for the Oilers to reach the blue line, not wanting to get caught up ice. The forwards could stand to be a little more assertive here.
- Demidov is going to the box for high-sticking. These calls tend to happen when all you’re doing is defending. Another important kill.
- The Oilers get the goal. Let that be the only thing Edmonton has to celebrate tonight.
- Texier gets hooked as he tried to turn up on after a turnover, but continues on. He thinks about a pass but then decides to shoot, and restores the three-goal lead.
Alex Texier with a short side rip makes it 4-1 #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) December 14, 2025 at 10:30 PM
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- Slafkovský does well to get the puck down the ice, but is thwarted on his attempt at the empty net.
- Noah Dobson misses as well. They can afford to fire from distance with a big lead. Maybe Dobeš will have a go.
- On a shift of 4:23 seconds, Matheson prevents McDavid from creating another goal.
- Montreal wins 4-1 at home, get its points percentage at the Bell Centre back to even, and takes five of last six available points.
- The homestand continues on Tuesday when the Philadelphia Flyers come to town. The two teams are tied on 38 points.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) He looked solid tonight (and had for the most part before the previous couple of weeks)
2) Good thing they play on ice
1) Fifteen more months
