Habs Daily: Caufield Stays Hot, Top Prospects, Waivers, Hutson

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed this past weekend.

Montreal Canadiens News

ICYMI: It’s almost time to start publishing the Montreal Canadiens Prospect Power Rankings, but before we start taking a closer look at recent performances from Habs prospects we need to set the initial ranking via a fan vote. The series will begin shortly after the initial list is established.  [Canadiens Prospect Power Rankings: Habs Fan Initial Vote]

Cole Caufield scored twice, while phenom Lane Hutson set up two goals, as the Habs beat the Ottawa Senators for the first time since Jean Drapeau was the mayor of Montreal. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but let’s just say the Canadiens haven’t enjoyed much success against their younger Ontarian brother. It must also be said that Samuel Montembeault has been borderline perfect since starting the year. [Canadiens Instant Recap: Caufield And Hutson Remain Red Hot]

With six points in five games, Hutson is off to an excellent start to his NHL career. We’re not dealing with a gigantic sample size yet, but we have just enough information available to get an early look at the impact Hutson can make in the lineup.  [Top 5 Things We’ve Learned From Lane Hutson’s NHL Start]

The Senators included Zack MacEwen in their lineup on Saturday night. You may remember him as the player who was dismissed with ease by Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj in a preseason fight. This time around, MacEwen didn’t lose a fight to Xhekaj, but the mere fact that he was in the lineup is a win for the Habs. The same can be said about Ryan Reaves whenever the Habs face the Toronto Maple Leafs. If teams keep adding tough guys to their lineup in a desperate attempt to match Xhekaj physically, they’re shooting themselves in the foot. Xhekaj can play a regular shift, and brings value to the team when he’s not fighting. The same cannot be said for the aforementioned players in Ontario. [GOTTA SEE IT: Arber Xhekaj Wins Fight Versus Zack MacEwen]

Laval Rocket forward Filip Mesar has hit the ground running in the AHL. The 20-year-old has one goal and three assists in two games. Speaking of hot starts, defenceman Logan Mailloux leads the team in scoring with two goals and two assists.

As for Filip Mesar, the 20-year-old began his professional career in earnest on Friday, and he did it in style, scoring a goal and two assists.

Jared Davidson finds Filip Mešár to tie up #LAVvsPRO for the @RocketLaval. pic.twitter.com/A4I1G7VVH1

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) October 12, 2024

The Habs placed forward Alex Barre-Boulet on waivers, with the end goal being an AHL reassignment. It’s purely speculative, but I assume the decision was made to open a roster spot for Jayden Struble, who has been dealing with a lingering injury since the start of the year. [Montreal Canadiens Place Depth Forward On Waivers]

National Hockey Now Network

The Habs will face Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. For all the information from the other side of the rink, make sure to visit our sister site, Pittsburgh Hockey Now.  [Pittsburgh Penguins]

After digesting the New Jersey Devils’ 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs, there are certainly some thoughts that arise. Thus, we bring you a new, annual report card following each and every Devils game this season which will be published the day after a game.[New Jersey Devils]

Florida Panthers goalie Spencer Knight played in his first NHL game in 20 months on Saturday night in Buffalo, but he was disappointed with how the game went. [Florida Panthers]