After a hard-earned split of the two games in Florida, the Montreal Canadiens made their highly-anticipated Bell Centre debut on Friday night to continue their series with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Just like the previous two games, it was an extremely close battle where neither team could open up more than a one-goal lead at any point. And again, just like the previous two games, they needed overtime to decide who would take it.
And then it happened. A Lane Hutson bomb from the point sent the city of Montreal into a frenzy as they celebrated a 2-1 series lead.
HUTSON DONNE LA VICTOIRE AU CH EN PROLONGATION! pic.twitter.com/KTxNsHdshw
— TVA Sports (@TVASports) April 25, 2026
Hutson’s heroics were the cherry on top of a night where a number of players stepped up to help the Habs produce during a two-game stretch where their top line has struggled to do so. Among those players was Kirby Dach, who has had his own struggles, and was subject to online vitriol after a costly mistake during overtime in game two. He found out on Friday night that those flooding his inbox – and that of his girlfriend, for whatever reason – were not the real Habs fans.
Those in attendance chanted his name, and reminded him that the true members of this fan base are firmly behind every player on the team.
“I love playing here, I love the fans. They’ve stuck with me through a lot of hard years.”
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2026
Kirby Dach chats with @sportsnetkyle following the Canadiens’ Game 3 win. pic.twitter.com/4MMWc3qStt
Debating the possibility of lineup changes among fans is one thing; we all do it, and it is part of the fun of being a sports fan. Attacking a player and those close to him through private messages is an entirely different, patently absurd behaviour, reserved for the absolute worst among us. Those who engaged in this behaviour should be completely ashamed of themselves regardless of anything that happened in game three, but particularly so after Dach went out and notched a crucial goal and assist to help the Habs take the lead in this series.
At the end of the day, if you watched that overtime in game two, you will know that nobody on the team played particularly well. That Dach made the most glaring mistake was low-hanging fruit, which ignores that the team as a whole was not where they needed to be in that period. They knew that, Martin St-Louis knew that, and he blocked out the noise to stand with his player, moving him to centre his own line with Alexandre Texier and Zachary Bolduc that was absolutely fantastic in game three. It was fair to wonder about taking Dach out of the lineup altogether after game two, but the decision to keep him in ended up being a massive part of how they won game three.
These are the Habs fans I know. Chanting KIRBY to show some support after a bunch of dickheads harassed him and his girlfriend. pic.twitter.com/W18ENJbCzQ
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) April 24, 2026
He played with confidence, and now it seems out of the question that his spot in the lineup would be up for debate. Whatever happens from here out in the series, this should serve as a reminder that mistakes happen, players can recover from those mistakes, and the last thing you should ever be doing is lobbing personal attacks at players and their families over those mistakes.
And if Kirby Dach has decided to recover from his mistake by playing his best hockey at the best possible time, look out. The Habs aren’t going to be easy to beat.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be back on Sunday night to discuss game four at the Bell Centre.
