Montreal Canadiens news and notes
- As the Canadiens try to embrace an underdog role, Spencer Carbery is attempting to frame this series as a battle between two relatively equal teams that outperformed their pre-season projections. [La Presse]
- Looking into the numbers, the teams appear to be closer than the season records suggest. [RDS]
- “This doesn’t happen without [Martin St-Louis’s] belief,” Brendan Gallagher says of Montreal’s surprising playoff appearance. [TSN]
- The Habs players respect Alexander Ovechkin, but they’re not intimidated by him. [RDS]
- Ten keys to the Canadiens finding success versus the Capitals. [Radio-Canada]
- Geoff Molson has never heard the Bell Centre so loud, even during the playoff runs of the Carey Price era. [TVA Sports]
- A timeline of the Canadiens’ top 2024-25 moments. [Journal de Montreal]
- Ivan Demidov has been sharing his wealth of professional playoff experience with the new teammates who have none. [TVA Sports]
- Battling nerves will be one issue Montreal has to overcome that Washington’s veteran roster will be less impacted by. [Sportsnet]
- Montreal’s power play improved this season, but there was a downward trend as the season went on and it became predictable. [La Presse]
- Patrik Laine says he “can’t wait to flip the switch” when the playoffs begin. [Journal de Montreal]
- Laine and Demidov are Montreal’s two X-factors. [The Athletic]
- Samuel Montembeault says this year’s workload was like playing two seasons in one for him. [TVA Sports]
- Logan Thompson could start Game 1 for Washington. [NHL.com]
- Pierre-Luc Dubois reveals that good friend David Savard told him before the season started that he was thinking this season might be his last. [La Presse]
- The performance bonuses the Canadiens’ young players earned this year. [TVA Sports]
- Capital One Arena is undergoing major reconstruction as the building gets sets for its first playoff game. [Journal de Montreal]
- Laval Rocket goaltenders Cayden Primeau and Connor Hughes share the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award with Brandon Halverson and Matt Tomkins of the Syracuse Crunch for allowing the fewest goals in the AHL this season. [AHL.com]
- Florian Xhekaj scored in overtime in last night’s regular-season finale to help the Rocket finish with 101 points. [AHL.com]
- Marie-Philip Poulin took sole possession of Canada’s all-time women’s international hockey points record in a semifinal win at the World Championship. [La Presse]
Around the league and elsewhere
- Peter Laviolette was fired by the New York Rangers. [NHL.com]
- The Anaheim Ducks fired head coach Greg Cronin. [NHL.com]
- The Winnipeg Jets came back to beat the St. Louis Blues in the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. [NHL.com]
- The Colorado Avalanche got some bounces and good goaltending in a 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars. [NHL.com]
- Zeev Buium will make his NHL debut for the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 versus the Vegas Golden Knights. [NHL.com]
- Anthony Stolarz will be the Toronto Maple Leafs’ starter in Game 1. [NHL.com]
- Matthew Tkachuk returned to practice, but Paul Maurice can’t yet determine if he’ll be ready for Florida’s first game. [TSN]
- The Edmonton Oilers signed Ty Emberson to a two-year extension. [TSN]
- The Calgary Flames need to make a decision on Rasmus Andersson’s future with the team. [Sportsnet]
