The Montreal Canadiens faced the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night, playing the second leg of back-to-back games to open the 2025-26 season.
Thanks to yet another solid outing from Zachary Bolduc and Oliver Kapanen, among others, the Habs emerged with a morale-boosting 5-1 win.
Let’s dive into the highlights!
Solid Response Time
Ideally, the Canadiens would not spot their opponents an early lead, but we all know that’s an issue the team is yet to correct, and may take a lot more time to figure out.
Two years ago, it would take the Canadiens roughly 55 minutes to respond to a poor start.
Last season, it was closer to about 30 or 40 minutes.
This season, Montreal has managed to react very quickly in the first period, a healthy step in the overall process.
It was Zachary Bolduc who responded to the early goal against on Thursday, scoring his second goal in as many games in a Canadiens uniform. It’s much too early to declare the trade between the Blues and the Canadiens as a definite win for Montreal, but the early returns clearly favour the Habs. It also seemed like a clear win for Kent Hughes on paper, but I digress.
All that matters is that Bolduc has quickly made himself very useful to his new team.
Zachary Bolduc now has goals in back-to-back games, a great start to his #GoHabsGo career. Smart assist by Gallagher on the play. pic.twitter.com/v2hy9t8Pb0
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 9, 2025
Context Is Key
Speaking of great debuts, this doesn’t technically count as Kapanen’s Habs debut, but I’d argue his play at the start and end of the NHL season last year is irrelevant, as it featured completely different linemates in a very different role.
Not only did Kapanen score the first goal of the season for the Canadiens on Wednesday, he followed it up with another nice goal versus the Red Wings, which started with a perfect outlet pass by Ivan Demidov. Full marks to Alex Newhook, who continues to use his speed to set up scoring plays off the rush.
Kapanen also has goals in back-to-back games.
Assists to Newhook and Demidov. 2-1 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/eNxD2PgP8N
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 9, 2025
Guess Who’s Back? (Did He Leave?)
Now that Mike Matheson is spending a little less time on the powerplay, it seems like he’s focused on providing quality shifts at 5v5, and that’s great news for the Canadiens. He had yet another solid game, as evidenced by his first goal of the season, but more importantly, he seemed very comfortable in his own zone.
We all know it’s a contract season for Matheson, but I reject the theory that he’s trying harder than he did in previous years. Besides, he’s not the type of player who takes his foot off the gas just because he recently signed a deal.
Matheson always tries his hardest, it just happens that he often opts for high-difficulty plays.
Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.
So far, this season, it has worked out quite well.
Mike Matheson might be enjoying the best individual start to the year for the Habs.
Nice pass by Suzuki to make it 3-1. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/5qWbHZIKqF
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 9, 2025
Deuces Are Wild
Bolduc’s second goal of the game wasn’t the prettiest you’ll see this week, but it was important, as it featured a great forecheck by the newcomer, not to mention a strong net presence to deflect the Alex Carrier point shot. The NHL switched the goal from Bolduc to Carrier in the third period, but there’s a good chance it’ll revert to back Bolduc once they get a chance to review it.
Or re-review it, I suppose.
Regardless, it’s fair to say Bolduc has faced the pressure of joining a new team with aplomb.
Carrier’s shot has eyes. 4-1 #GoHabsGo. Good work by Bolduc on the forecheck, puck looked like it almost deflected off his stick. pic.twitter.com/Y0LYiDT3Dx
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 10, 2025
First Line Value
Juraj Slafkovsky made it 5-1 for the Canadiens late in the third period, scoring the team’s first powerplay goal of the season in the process. It wasn’t a 5v5 goal, but you’d be hard-pressed to argue the first line has looked awful in the first two games of the year. Statistically speaking, they’ve dominated their even-strength shifts, making the powerplay goal a nice reward for their hard work.
Au tour de Slafkovsky d’ouvrir son compteur 🐎 pic.twitter.com/SvHNO1s9Sz
— TVA Sports (@TVASports) October 10, 2025
Additional Montreal Canadiens Notes And Statistics
This is going to make me sound like an old man, but there are too many broken sticks polluting the ice every night. Back in my day, we wore an onion on our belt because it was the style at the time, and our lumber lasted a few years. Of course, the sticks also weighed about 172 times more than they do now, but that’s not important.
The Matheson – Dobson pairing is enjoying a good start to the year, with an emphasis on Matheson’s solid decision-making. It has already led to several nice plays just two games into the season.
Kapanen is doing a great job making me look like a dolt, not that I need much help in that department. I genuinely had concerns about his scoring potential, and though we’re dealing with a tiny sample size, there’s no denying he’s looked great in the offensive zone. Playing on a line with Demidov and Newhook is certainly a good fit, given they use pace to their advantage to quickly drive the puck up the ice.
On the flip side of the prediction coin, it’s no surprise Bolduc has quickly fit in with the Canadiens. Martin St-Louis loves a player who offers an honest effort every shift, and can execute plays at top speed.
Is Steve Yzerman the most overrated executive of the modern era? He tried to press fast-forward on the rebuild at the worst possible time by adding several veterans to the lineup, and though some young players are finally starting to shine, it’s impossible to ignore that the Canadiens leapfrogged the Red Wings in just a couple of rebuilding seasons.
Jakub Dobes quietly had a very efficient game. In the end, the Red Wings put 30 shots on net, making it a quality start for the 24-year-old backup.
Good save by Jakub Dobes on the Debrincat breakaway. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Mt4Kj2d0ID
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 10, 2025
The scoreline was a little flattering towards the Habs. That’s not to say they didn’t deserve their goals, but after 40 minutes the Red Wings held a three-minute advantage in offensive-zone puck-possession time.
Slafkovsky constantly goes out of his way to get involved in physical battles with Moritz Seider.
Slafkovsky’s hit on Seider. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Dp4CmW8sAo
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 9, 2025
Montreal Canadiens vs. Detroit Red Wings Heatmap (5v5 shots and goals only)
At first, I was under the impression Natural Stat Trick was having a few issues tracking the game, which happens on occasion. The site suggested Montreal had no high-danger scoring chances at 5v5 in the first period, even if they scored three goals that were relatively close to the crease.
Upon further inspection, it seems all three goals were just outside the high-danger scoring area, which is a healthy reminder that statistics don’t always tell the complete picture. Either way, it was good to see Montreal focus on taking shots from quality scoring areas, but their overall shot volume left something to be desired.
The Montreal Canadiens will be back in action on Saturday, facing the Blackhawks in Chicago. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.