After a very long, and very successful road trip, the Montreal Canadiens were back at the Bell Centre on Wednesday night to host the Calgary Flames. With a stellar road record in the first half of the season, they were looking to build some confidence on home ice against a team that is near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They got precisely that, dominating the Flames en route to a 4-1 win for the first game of their home stand.
They say there’s no place like home, and while Québec may not be home for French national Alexandre Texier, it was as good a place as any for the best game of his career.
Dustin Wolf caught cheating a little here by Alex Texier, and he roofs it over the shoulder.
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) January 8, 2026
1-0 #Habs pic.twitter.com/cK21QN5UzL
Still playing on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, Texier posted a goal and two assists for the first three-point night of his career. This wasn’t a case of him being a passenger to his talented linemates either, he was noticeably involved in the tilting of the ice in his team’s favour, using his slick stick handling to create space and open up passing lanes in the offensive zone.
The caveat to his performance is the same as that for the entire team; they did it against a bottom-three team in the entire league. But this is the NHL, any roster has the ability to make it a game, and the Habs needed overtime to squeak out a win against this same Calgary roster back in October. They should be a very beatable team for Montreal, but it was still encouraging to see them really control the play instead of playing to the level of their opponent.
NHL GameScore Impact Card for Montreal Canadiens on 2026-01-07: pic.twitter.com/emBDidlcQE
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) January 8, 2026
There’s no doubt that Texier is punching above his weight as part of the Habs’ top line. Conversely, it is very doubtful that Kent Hughes envisioned the Frenchman on the top line when he signed him. But an ability to play up in the lineup in a pinch is the hallmark of good bottom-six players in the NHL. If Texier is looking to earn a contract to stay in Montreal beyond this season, proving that he can bat out of his league at times would go a long way to earning that.
The competition he’ll face in that role will quickly stiffen, as the Habs are about to host the Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings consecutively. Assuming no lineup changes, he’ll get a chance to prove that he can help that line continue to produce on home ice in tougher games, which could significantly increase his stock with the brass.
Now with 11 points through 21 games with the Habs, at the very least, Texier is proving that he was more than worth the price it took to bring him to Montreal.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be right back tonight, when the Habs are hosting the Florida Panthers.
