The Montreal Canadiens came into their matchup on Wednesday hungry to win their first game at the Bell Centre, and they did just that with a dominating 4-1 victory against the Calgary Flames. The Habs were led by forward Alexandre Texier, who scored a goal and 2 assists in his first career 3-point game.

The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Flames 4–1.

-The Canadiens are now 24-13-6 on the season.

Thoughts?

Le Canadien de Montréal a battu les Flames 4–1.

Prochain match : Canadiens c. Panthers
8 janvier à 19 h#GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast @TonyMarinaro pic.twitter.com/CxqLu3i0PQ

— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) January 8, 2026

Overall, the Canadiens played a strong team game, with all 18 skaters and netminder Jacob Fowler contributing positively to the victory. The only player that finished the night with a negative plus-minus was Noah Dobson, but he still had a good game with 4 blocked shots and 2 hits.

#GoHabsGo Jacob Fowler earns his 4th career win.

He has now stopped 62 of 65 shots against in the 3rd period this season, posting a .954 SV%. pic.twitter.com/TvvcIFBObT

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) January 8, 2026

Meanwhile, Fowler had another great game with 27 saves on 28 shots. The goal he allowed was one he’d certainly want back, but he stayed solid the rest of the night, looking in control on nearly every shot he faced against the Flames. Fowler didn’t need to make any spectacular saves because he was always calm, poised, and positioned properly on the Flames’ shots. Having a goalie that is this good at positioning also makes things easier for the players in front of him, and they awarded him with 4 goals of support on the night.

The Canadiens came out really strong in the opening period, outshooting the Flames 14-7 in the frame. However, Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf dominated the period, making huge saves throughout the opening 20 minutes. After the first period, it looked like it might just be another game where Wolf had the Habs’ number yet again. Heading into Wednesday’s matchup, Wolf had a 2-0-1 all-time record against the Habs with an incredible 1.33 GAA and .949 save percentage.

Ça c’est notre olympien 🇫🇷

That’s our French Olympian, Alexandre Texier#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Xd34GIlbSx

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 8, 2026

Luckily for the Habs, things were about to change in the 2nd period. Cole Caufield would grab the puck in the neutral zone and skate over the blue line, where he would pass the puck to Alexandre Carrier, who then would find Texier at the side of the net. Texier would immediately take the puck and see Wolf cheating down on his post, so the French forward flipped the puck over the Flames netminder’s shoulder to open the scoring and give the Habs a 1-0 lead just 3:10 into the 2nd period. With that goal, Texier recorded his 100th NHL point, becoming only the 3rd French-born player to complete the feat. On a night where the whole team stepped up, Texier stood out above the rest with his 3 points.

Lane Hutson continues to be overlooked…we’ve even been offenders of it! But my god…every time this team scores it feels like he has a point. This kid is unreal pic.twitter.com/aGlsxkJreO

— Empty Netters (@EmptyNettersPod) January 8, 2026

Just under 4 minutes later, Mike Matheson poked the puck out of the defensive zone just as a Phillip Danault penalty expired. As Danault got out of the box, the puck went right on his stick as he started an odd-man rush up the ice. He would keep the puck himself, hoping to get his first goal of the season, but he was stopped by Wolf. The rebound would go right to Texier behind the net, who would send the puck right back to Danault. He would then pass the puck to a trailing Hutson in the slot, who would fire a one-timer past Wolf to give the Canadiens a 2-0 lead. Hutson has now scored in back-to-back games for the first time in his young NHL career. It would also be the 2nd game in a row that the Habs defenseman scored the game-winning goal.

#Habs Oliver Kapanen picks up the rebound for goal vs #Flames

Assists: Slafkovsky#GoHabsGo #NHL #Hockey @RocketSports pic.twitter.com/MCoFfWjdyv

— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) January 8, 2026

The Habs were done there, as only 1:07 later they would extend their lead to 3-0. Oliver Kapanen would get away with a trip on Nazem Kadri, who would fall as they battled for the puck, which would get pushed to Juraj Slafkovsky in front of the net. Slafkovsky would shoot the puck before it got blocked right onto Kapanen’s stick, where he was able to tap it into the net for the Habs’ 3rd goal in 5:02. Kapanen would once again tie Anaheim Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke for the rookie lead in goals with his 14th of the season. While linemate Ivan Demidov is leading all rookies in points with 36 in 43 games, Kapanen is now 5th with 23 points. The Habs’ kids line continues to buzz.

🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥

Joel Farabee, the only dangerous Flame tonight, gets Calgary on the board.

🎥: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/5008KQB8RO

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 8, 2026

Towards the end of the 2nd period, the Flames would get on the board with a goal that Fowler surely would want back. Flames forward Joel Farabee would get the puck in the neutral zone and skate in before firing a weak shot from just inside the offensive zone that fooled Fowler, who didn’t see the puck coming until the last second due to a screen in front.  It may not have been a good goal to allow your team to have all the momentum at the time, but he rebounded really well after that and didn’t let it faze him.

Oh my Cole Caufield 🎯 pic.twitter.com/Wk8frpNIUe

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 8, 2026

The Canadiens continued to push in the 3rd period and would get on the board once more thanks to Caufield. Arber Xhekaj would start the play by giving Nick Suzuki an outlet pass into the offensive zone, where he’d leave the puck for Texier, who would launch a cross-ice saucer pass to Caufield on the right side of the ice. Caufield would knock the puck down to the ice from mid-air before blasting a hard wrister past Wolf for his team-leading 21st goal of the season.

With about 4:30 left in regulation, Kadri would go on a 2-on-1 with teammate Yegor Sharangovich, where he would beat Fowler with a perfectly placed wrister to appear to cut the lead to within 2. However, Habs head coach Martin St. Louis challenged the play for offside, and the goal was overturned, keeping the game at 4-1.

The Canadiens’ debut at the Bell Centre for 2026 was marked by a massive two points, as the Habs are now 24-13-6 on the season and move into a tie with the Detroit Red Wings yet again for 2nd in the Atlantic Division.

Phil Danault in his first Habs game back at the Bell Centre tonight:

• 1 assist
• 18:22 mins
• 87% on faceoffs (13-15) pic.twitter.com/2bd9BljG4D

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) January 8, 2026

In his first game at the Bell Centre since being acquired from the L.A. Kings last month, Danault finished the night winning 13 of the 15 draws he took, nearly having a perfect night in the faceoff circle. His faceoff performance, along with his beautiful assist on the game-winner, earned the Habs veteran centre the 3rd star of the night.

The Habs will play again on Thursday night as they take on a banged-up Florida Panthers team at the Bell Centre, who may be without their leading scorer, Brad Marchand, who left their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. It should be yet another great battle against a division rival.