Canadiens Postgame
Habs Highlights: Another Impressive Canadiens Comeback Win
The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, looking to solidify their bid for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Due to poor results from the New York Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Islanders, the Red Wings are now the main threat to catch the Habs and take over the second Wild Card spot.
MUST READ: Canadiens Playoffs – Updated Eastern Conference Wild Card Odds
It wasn’t a pretty game by any means, and you’d be hard-pressed to argue the Habs weren’t outplayed for the majority of the game, but as per tradition, they managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Let’s dive into the highlights of Montreal’s crucial 4-1 win over the Red Wings!
Just As They Planned
The Canadiens started the game on the right foot by immediately controlling the flow of play, which led to the opening goal of the game for Martin St-Louis’ troops.
No, wait. That’s a lie.
The Habs didn’t bother to show up for the first period, and the Red Wings were dominant.
There, that sounds a little more normal.
But as we all know, the Canadiens need adversity in the mix, which is why Dylan Larkin’s opening goal was not a significant cause for concern. I should note that Marc Denis attempted to partially blame Patrik Laine for the goal, but that was a bad read by the RDS analyst. It’s not uncommon for Laine to be blamed for goals against, but it’s getting a little tiresome, especially when it’s clear that Mike Matheson is the one who made the mistake on the play.
With that in mind, it would be great if Matheson could take a more cautious approach to his play in the offensive zone.
Let’s be clear, Matheson is paid like a No.4 defenceman, but used as a No.1, which is why I try to avoid being too harsh in his respect. We must always remember he’s playing well above his station.
And I appreciate that he’s always trying to make something happen, but he’s no longer the only player on the blue line that has elite offensive instincts. The risky plays can lead to great things, but he can afford to take the safe route a little more often now that Lane Hutson is in the lineup.
A little too easy for Kane and Larkin. Another rough giveaway by Matheson. Not trying to pick on him, but it’s happening way too often. pic.twitter.com/pWvaC1qlV7
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 8, 2025
Time To Shine
The Canadiens finally woke up late in the second period, and as per usual, it was a member of the first line that scored. This time around, Cole Caufield scored his 37th goal of the year, demonstrating that a 40-goal season is not out of the question.
We expect the top line to score, making this a completely normal play, except for the fact that Lane Hutson did not register an assist on the play. Sure, he set everything up, and without him, they wouldn’t have scored, but I’m just not used to seeing scoring play without his name attached on the scoresheet.
Full marks to Caufield, as it was his strong defensive play that retrieved the puck for the Canadiens in the first place.
Cole Caufield’s excellent work in the defensive zone leads to more excellent work in the offensive zone.
Caufield’s 37th of the year. Tie game. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ptzfW9texf
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 9, 2025
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There’s no doubt Hutson and Suzuki have put together fantastic seasons that deserve a lot of praise.
But I honestly believe Brendan Gallagher deserves almost as much credit as his younger teammates. He works harder than anyone else on the ice, and since he’s the oldest forward in the lineup, it’s quite difficult for the younger players not follow suit.
Josh Anderson and Christian Dvorak also deserve a lot of praise for re-inventing themselves this season, and yet, I strongly believe they were simply following Gallagher’s lead.
Regardless, all three have played a crucial role in Montreal’s late-season push for the playoffs.
On Tuesday, Gallagher outworked his opponent to ensure a puck retrieval, which led to a nice pass by Dvorak, and an easy finish for Anderson, his 15th goal of the year, and Montreal’s first lead of the game with a little over 10 minutes left to play in the third period.
Another strong shift by Gallagher leads to a Dvorak pass and an Anderson goal.
Detroit player lost their bucket, giving Anderson plenty of time.
Anderson continues to enjoy quite the resurgence this season. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/9FjQWCIB3f
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 9, 2025
With the win in regulation, the Montreal Canadiens now have a 96% chance to make the playoffs.
It’s not a guarantee, but it’s probably time to push back that summer vacation you had planned, because springtime hockey is back on the menu.
Ca sent les séries à Montréal
We also have to give full marks to Samuel Montembeault, as he held the fort in the first 30 minutes of the game. Detroit deserved a much bigger lead, but there’s no such thing as deserve in sports.
Josh Anderson may have saved a late-game goal prior to Gallagher’s empty netter.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/8FRGZlamnX
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 9, 2025
The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Friday. They will face the Senators in Ottawa, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET. All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.
I am usually first to crap on monty but tonight he deserved 1st, 2nd and 3rd star… as well as a million from laine and 500k from matheson.
David savard was atrocious….
At this point, I’m just not going to comment on Savard anymore. He’s doing his best, but he’s clearly struggling and being overused by his coach.
And if we’re being honest, the second pairing is a bigger issue than the third pairing. The Matheson-Carrier pairing is a disaster.
Could much of Matheson’s perceived issues be a function of overuse? If you’re on the ice for 31 min, there has to be a small percentage of plays where things don’t go your way…..?
Oh, it’s absolutely part of it.
Matheson is one of the busiest defencemen in the entire NHL. He was 9th in average TOI the last time I checked. And as I keep repeating, he’s not paid like a top defenceman, so we can’t get too upset when mistakes occur.
It’s a roster issue more than a Matheson issue.
If you’re going to (fairly) critique Matheson for a bad pinch on the first goal, how bout giving him credit for preventing that lead before Gally’s empty net. Watch the replay again and you’ll see how well he read the cross ice pass and got down sneakily and in perfect timing to partially block the puck and prevent it from landing perfectly on Kane’s stick… Instead Anderson gets his stick on it and up to Gally and the rest is history.
In a way that play perfectly encapsulates the team ethos and smart plays this team is putting forward every night for 96-98% of the game. Matheson is very much part of those smart plays.
Fair enough.
If I may, I think I’ve brought up his mistakes about five times this year, so I felt it was fair to discuss it this time around. Let’s be honest, this isn’t the first brutal blunder that led directly to a goal against in the last few games.
I was mostly trying to drive home the point that if Matheson picks his spots slightly better, he’ll be more than okay, even with heavy usage.
But you’re absolutely right, the good outweighs the bad with Matheson, which is why I usually try to stem the tide of criticism when he’s brought up.
He’s one of the busiest defencemen in the NHL, but I bet his cap hit leaves him outside the top 50 best-paid defencemen.
(Edit: I checked. He’s the 67th highest-paid defenceman in the league, and receives the 9th-most ice time.)