After a season opener where they struggled to cash in on their opportunities, the Montreal Canadiens rolled into Detroit the very next night and put up five goals in two periods. A torrid pace benefited the transitional quick-strike abilities of the Habs, and they cruised to a 5-1 win. They definitely left some opportunities on the table against the Leafs, but absolutely cleaned their plate against the Red Wings by producing what they did with only 17 shots on goal.
A big part of their offensive output so far has been Zachary Bolduc, who is quickly showing everyone just why Kent Hughes wanted to trade for him.
Beautiful passing by the #Habs here, and Zachary Bolduc has two goals in as many games in the Tricolore. pic.twitter.com/rD6floDxCg
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) October 9, 2025
Bolduc doesn’t do anything spectacular, but he plays the game with great pace, forechecks incredibly hard, and has an underrated shot. He can fight to the front of the net to collect rebounds, and he can attack off the rush. A ton of focus with the Habs is rightfully on their top line, and a big part of finishing their rebuild is figuring out how to maximize production when that trio isn’t on the ice. Two games into this season, we’re seeing that Bolduc can be a massive contributor for them, and if he keeps this up, it will facilitate great things from the top dogs.
The fact he doesn’t have any spectacular traits probably played into some of the trepidation fans had around the trade that sent Logan Mailloux to the St. Louis Blues. Mailloux does things spectacularly, which can be a double-edged sword at times, but piques the interest of anyone watching. The Habs have enough spectacle on the blue line at this point, they needed a forward that can give them more punch outside of their top line, and that is precisely what Bolduc is providing them.
Martin St-Louis has essentially distributed ice time evenly among his three lines that don’t have Nick Suzuki on them. With guys like Bolduc and Oliver Kapanen starting the season red hot, it’s easy to see why he feels so comfortable with that distribution. Time will tell which of the three lines will emerge as his preferred second, but the way Bolduc is playing right now sure gives his line a good shot of being favoured in high-leverage situations.
It is far too early to do a victory lap for the trade, but Zachary Bolduc sure is giving fans a reason to smile about it in the early goings of this season.
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 Saturday night for the final game of the season-opening road trip against the Chicago Blackhawks.
