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Canadiens Wrap

Habs Wrap: Hage On Fire, Bolduc’s Goals, Kapanen Impact

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montreal canadiens michael hage

MONTREAL — There’s always Montreal Canadiens news to be absorbed on a daily basis, but there are only so many hours in a day. On Sundays, we recap the most exciting and relevant NHL news stories that you may have missed throughout the week so that you can stay in the Canadiens loop.

Unfortunately, I was dealing with a medical issue at the start of the week, and was forced to miss a few of the daily articles, making this a limited edition of the Hab wrap.

Thursday

Oliver Kapanen wasted no time making his mark, scoring the first goal of the season for the Canadiens, which also happened to be his first career goal in the NHL. To top it all off, it was shorthanded, making Kapanen the first Habs player to score their first goal shorthanded since Chris Chelios about 20 years ago. Zachary Bolduc also scored in his Canadiens debut, but Toronto ook over in the third period, leading to a win for the Maple Leafs. [Canadiens Highlights: Kapanen Scores First In Losing Cause]

The Habs will be right back at it today, facing the Red Wings in Detroit. Seeing as Samuel Montembeault was given the start versus the Leafs, Jakub Dobes will have an opportunity to start the season on the right foot with the start on Thursday.


Nick Suzuki heaped a heavy dose of praise upon Ivan Demidov’s shoulders. Demidov’s love for hockey quickly stood out to his captain.

Highly-talented forward Alexander Zharovsky did not score in Salavat’s 4-1 loss to Dynamo, but he almost pulled off the highlight of the year with some slick moves in the offensive zone.

Friday

Zachary Bolduc is enjoying a dream start to his Montreal Canadiens career. He now has goals in back-to-back games, and was instrumental in Montreal’s big 5-1 win over the Red Wings on Thursday. Bolduc, alongside Jakub Dobes, Mike Matheson, and Oliver Kapanen, stole the spotlight in Detroit. [Canadiens Highlights: Bolduc Red Hot Start To Habs career]

At the time of scheduling this post, the NHL had yet to credit Bolduc with two goals versus the Wings, but from what I can see, he clearly got a stick on Alex Carrier’s point shot in the third period. Plus, Bolduc celebrated after the puck went in the net, and Carrier did not, which is almost always the best indicator of who actually scored in the NHL. Unfortunately, if they do give credit to Bolduc, it would erase Brendan Gallagher’s third assist of the season, which is a shame because the veteran is also off to a great start to the year.


I briefly hit on this assist in the instant recap, but it must be said that Ivan Demidov’s impact when it comes to quick (and controlled) zone exits is impossible to ignore. Either he offers a great outlet option for his defencemen, or he’s the one pulling the trigger on a lightning-quick pass.

Meet Ben Xhekaj, noted iced-coffee aficionado, and NHL defenceman.

It’s still very early. Very, very early. However, Mike Matheson is among those who clearly hit the ground running this season. Given the unreasonable level of criticism sent his way last year, this is nothing but good news.

Saturday

Top prospect Michael Hage is off to a red-hot start to his sophomore season with the University of Michigan Wolverines (NCAA).[Canadiens Prospect Report: Hage Off To Dominant Start]

TSN and RDS have extended their broadcast rights with the Montreal Canadiens, though it should be noted that RDS’ share of Habs games will drop from 60 per season to 45. Interestingly, despite suggesting the deal has ensured Canadiens coverage for “years to come”, they did not actually note the length of the new agreement in the announcement. Blackout games are still in effect, and you’ll need to have access to both TVA Sports and RDS to watch all the games in French. [Canadiens, TSN Extend Agreement]

We’re just two games into the 2025-26 season, but the early returns on the Zachary Bolduc and Noah Dobson trades have been nothing but encouraging. Dobson’s underlying numbers alongside Mike Matheson have been elite, whereas Bolduc wasted no time proving his worth to his new team.  [Early Canadiens Results From The Dobson And Bolduc Trades]

Speaking of Matheson, the numbers do not lie, he’s been great.

Juraj Slafkovsky is enjoying a better start to the season when compared to previous campaigns. Beyond scoring on Thursday, he’s been much more engaged in driving the play at 5v5.

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