With a full three days off after their season opener, the Montreal Canadiens were waiting in Pennsylvania to play their second road game of the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins. For the first 10 minutes of the game, it looked like their time off served them very well. It went downhill fast, however, with the Habs surrendering five unanswered goals, and needing a late-second marker from Nick Suzuki just to get to the third period down three goals. It seemed like they were headed for their first regulation loss of the season.
But then, as we’ve seen them do many times, they stormed back in the third period, scoring two goals with their net empty including Ivan Demidov’s epic game-tying effort.
IVAN DEMIDOV TIES THE GAME.
IT WAS 5-1 https://t.co/YwnFW5iofR
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) October 4, 2026
Of course, the same Demidov that tied the game was the victim of an egregious non-call in overtime where his stick was cleaved in half in front of a ref, just before Pittsburgh ended the game and took the extra point. If you can put that unfortunate ending to the side for a moment, the epic nature of them salvaging a point was undeniably impressive. They have an uncanny ability to handle multi-goal, third-period deficits like it’s a thrill-seeking activity that they signed up for. It makes for an emotional roller-coaster to watch as a fan, not lacking whatsoever in entertainment value, yet certainly not the ideal way to try and win hockey games in the National League.
There is something to be said for their lack of consistency, because they did not start this game looking like a team that stood a chance of being down multiple goals. They were all over the Penguins in the opening 10 minutes. Where all of that energy went late in the first and during the second period is a tough question to answer, and put them in quite the predicament. Comebacks are fun, but this one felt unnecessary if they could simply have maintained their focus after a strong start.
Martin St-Louis will want to try and establish that consistency, but he will undoubtedly feel some comfort in knowing this roster won’t go quietly when things do break down. At bare minimum, a game like this sends the message that if you get the Habs down, you had better keep kicking until the final whistle, because they won’t just lay there.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We will be back on Tuesday night, when the Habs will host the Carolina Hurricanes for their home opener.