It’s déja vu all over again for Jakub Dobes and the Canadiens.
This is beginning to sound like a broken record — and it’s still early in the season — but all Dobes does is win.
He stretched his record to 5-0 this season, backstopping the Canadiens to a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night at Rogers Place.
It seems the more shots Dobes faces, the better he plays. He had 31 from Vancouver. Last Wednesday, at Calgary, he was peppered with 37 shots, yet allowed only one goal. His save percentage against the Canucks was .903. He has a 1.77 goals-against average this season along with a .940 save percentage.
The Canadiens wouldn’t have made the playoffs last season without Dobes’s seven wins. How far will he carry them this season? He clearly has supplanted Sam Montembeault as Montreal’s best netminder through 10 games.
While it might be Montembeault’s turn to play Tuesday night, when Montreal concludes their four-game road trip at Seattle, with two full days off can head coach Martin St. Louis risk going back to the veteran at this stage?
No!
Just give him the Calder Trophy already: Another game, another dazzling performance by Russian superstar rookie Ivan Demidov. He scored a goal and added two assists, giving him two goals and nine points through 10 games.
The .700 club: With a record of 7-3-0, how do you like your Canadiens so far? They’re in first place in the Atlantic Division.
Canadiens’ Juraj Slafkovsky (20) and Ivan Demidov (93) celebrate after Montreal defeated the Canucks 4-3 in Vancouver on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.
News you need (Part I): There might be a strike by B.C.’s General Employees’ Union, but Rogers Place was well-stocked with beer, we were told. And considering the Canucks squandered a 2-0 lead against Montreal, we’re guessing the suds were flowing freely. Or should have been.
News you need (Part II): The Canadiens now have 30 points from their defencemen — the most in the NHL. On this night, Mike Matheson scored his third goal of the season. Alexandre Carrier had two assists and Lane Hutson had one.
News you need (Part III): Nick Suzuki scored Montreal’s first goal, 15 minutes into the second period. That extended the captain’s point streak to nine games.
No Cy Young for you, one year: Suzuki’s stats line is now 2-11, the difference between goals and assists.
He couldn’t wait to get out: Despite being acquired only 24 hours earlier in a trade from Chicago, centre Lukas Reichel was in the lineup for Vancouver against the Canadiens. He even received time on the power play despite likely having no clue what Vancouver’s power-play philosophy is.
Seeing double, even triple: The Canucks had three guys named Pettersson in their lineup — one forward and two defencemen. Two of them even have the same first name, Elias.
One job we wouldn’t want to have: The Canucks’ play-by-play announcer.
What happened to their game over the Rocky Mountains?: The Canadiens registered only one shot through nine minutes to begin the first period.
Strange, but true (Part I): The Canadiens had scored 10 first-period goals this season, but were blanked over the opening 20 minutes.
Strange, but true (Part II): Of Jake DeBrusk’s 28 goals last season, half came on the power play. He scored his second goal this season in the second period. Yeah, both have come with the man-advantage.
There’s nothing wrong with their game: Montreal, held to four first-period shots, generated that many before the second period was four minutes old.
Where breakaways go to die: Josh Anderson had one in the second period, while the Canadiens were shorthanded. The hard-luck winger hit the post.
This is how you get in the coach’s doghouse: Arber Xhekaj, after taking a first-period holding penalty, was guilty of interference in the second. He threw a pick on Tyler Myers as the Canuck was in pursuit of Alex Newhook behind Montreal’s net. Xhekaj played only 6:37 against Vancouver and might be a healthy scratch come Tuesday.
Dumb penalty: Linus Karlsson took an interference penalty with 54 seconds remaining on Xhekaj’s minor. It eventually led to Suzuki’s goal.
Pass of the night: Demidov to Suzuki, leaving the latter with an open net.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all: Juraj Slafkovsky tied the game 2-2 with a power-play goal early in the third period — while shattering his stick on the shot.
Canadiens’ Cole Caufield (13) and Canucks’ Tyler Myers (57) vie for the puck in Vancouver on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.
Cheap-shot of the night: Evander Kane’s cross-check on Cole Caufield — head-first into the boards.
Who says players aren’t selfish?: Late in the third period, Newhook had a two-on-one break with Demidov — and decided to shoot. It went wide.
Sieve of the night: Kevin Lankinen was beaten on the 15th, 19th, 23rd and 24th shots he faced.
Quick stats: Kirby Dach and Oliver Kapanen both had three shots. Noah Dobson blocked three shots. Matheson blocked three while playing 27:23. The Canadiens won 62.3 per cent of their faceoffs, but were outhit 20-16.
From the coach’s mouth: “I think as a young team it’s probably one part of the game we’ve got to keep working on,” St. Louis told the media in Vancouver about the Canadiens putting teams away. “I don’t think we’ve had a lot of experience in that department. We’re hoping this year that we gain a lot … to be in more of those situations. It wasn’t necessarily pretty. We gave up one (late goal), but we found a way.
“I’ve known all along that Demidov can play on the first power-play (unit),” he added. “I feel like I got to a certain point where Demidov showed me he’s willing to play on the other side of the game; the defensive game. He’s bought in. He’s very attentive and trying to keep getting better. For me all those signs led to, OK it’s time. It also allows me to give him a little more ice time.”
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