This is what happens when you don’t pay your hydro bill.
Wednesday night’s game between the Canadiens and Calgary Flames was delayed almost 15 minutes because the lights weren’t fully charged. The players from both teams had to eventually agree to start the game. We’d expect something this bush to happen in the CFL, not the NHL.
Of course, we should also mention the Scotiabank Saddledome, as arenas go, is older than dirt, having been built in 1983. Perhaps it’s time for a new venue? Just saying.
News you need (Part I): Calgary goaltender Dustin Wolf, magnificent on this night despite losing in overtime, had never lost to the Canadiens in his career.
News you need (Part II): Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, who assisted on the game-opening goal by Zachary Bolduc late in the first period, has a seven-game point streak. He also has 14 career points against the Flames.
News you need (Part III): The overtime goal by Montreal defenceman Mike Matheson was the first of his career.
The face of your first OT goal: Mike Matheson celebrates after scoring the winner on Wednesday.
News you need (Part IV): When Bolduc opened the scoring, he extended his season-opening road goal streak to four games.
And the Jeopardy answer is … Ryan Huska: The correct question — which NHL head coach will be the first to be fired this season? Calgary now is on a seven-game losing streak and still hasn’t won a game in regulation. Or to put it another way, the Flames suck. At least the Calgary Stampeders are back in the playoffs following a one-year drought.
And this is why he could have won the Calder Trophy: The Canadiens peppered Wolf with 10 first-period shots. He made great saves on Bolduc, Oliver Kapanen twice, Jake Evans and Ivan Demidov.
Our early Cy Young candidate: Bolduc, four goals and one assist. Kapanen, at 4-0, is in the running as well. Honourable mention to Juraj Slafkovsky at 3-0.
And the goalie battle continues: Jakub Dobes remains undefeated in four games this season and stopped all but one of 37 Calgary shots for a .973 save percentage. Dobes was brilliant in the second period, when he stopped all 18 shots. If Samuel Montembeault, expected to start Thursday night at Edmonton, wets the bed, the controversy will reach a feverish pitch.
Jakub Dobes stops Kevin Bahl of the Calgary Flames during the third period.
Hit of the night (Part I): Alex Newhook on Zayne Parekh in the second period.
Hit of the night (Part II): Later in the period, Lane Hutson was knocked down following a heavy check from Adam Klapka.
Elbow of the night: Hutson on Nazem Kadri in the third period. No penalty was assessed.
It’s a game of inches (Part I): While Calgary was on the power play in the second period, Kadri’s shot hit the left post.
It’s a game of inches (Part II): Suzuki hit the crossbar in the third period.
Emergency goalie at work again: In the second period — and not for the first time this season — Hutson took an apparent goal away, blocking Connor Zary’s shot with Dobes out of position.
One of them eventually has to go in: Josh Anderson and breakaways aren’t a good mix. He had one early in the third period and, as usual, failed to score. Anderson, who isn’t necessarily counted on for his offence, has yet to score through eight games. He has one assist.
Doh: Dobes might have recorded his first shutout this season — except for Noah Dobson‘s third-period giveaway to Morgan Frost. He fed Klapka for the tying goal.
Adam Klapka of the Calgary Flames celebrates after scoring on the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Oct. 22, 2025 in Calgary.
Dumb penalty: Frost tripped Suzuki 16 seconds into a Calgary third-period power play. Then again, the Flames went 0-for-5 with the man advantage. Perhaps Frost’s move was a stroke of genius?
Next time, decline the penalty: Calgary went 0-for-5 on the power play Monday night, against Winnipeg.
Pass of the night: Demidov to Matheson on the winning goal. The Russian rookie, a supremely gifted player, showed remarkable patience and poise. This is a superstar in the making.
Quick stats: Slafkovsky had four shots and three blocks. Kapanen had three shots. Matheson played 25:26, had three shots and three blocks. Dobson blocked six shots — one more than Alexandre Carrier. Joshua Roy, just recalled from Laval, played only 7:58, but had four hits. The Canadiens won 47.5 per cent of their faceoffs and, as usual, were outhit, 23-17.
They said it: “We weren’t playing to our strength in the second period,” Suzuki told the media in Calgary. “We were turning a lot of pucks over, kind of let them take control of the game. It took us a little bit in the third to get going. We had a good push after they scored.
“I thought both goalies made a lot of big saves. Wolf has had our number. It was nice to get the win.”
“He (Wolf) is very good,” Dobes said in Calgary. “He deserved the win. I feel like I deserved the win. I got him this time. He got me last time, so we’re 1-1.”
“Obviously he’s got great feet, great deception,” head coach Martin St. Louis said about Demidov. “He’s got quick hands and he’s got a quick mind, too. He can execute fast what he sees. You saw that multiple times tonight.”
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