The Montreal Canadiens had a dominant start to their season, reaching as high as second overall in the NHL. However, in the recent games, the struggles have been mounting. They have dropped four of their last five, including back-to-back blowout losses to the Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars. Let’s analyze what’s caused the Montreal Canadiens recent struggles and discuss how they can turn things around.

Montreal Canadiens Recent Struggles

The Canadiens have been cursed with injuries over the last several years. They’ve posted back-to-back record-breaking seasons of man games lost to injury. The start of the 2025-26 season has been no different early on. Montreal lost Patrik Laine to injury, and he will miss several months. Kaiden Guhle has also been out for a few weeks. Now it was announced he will miss another two months or more following surgery. Things continued to get worse for the Canadiens Thursday night as Alex Newhook was forced to leave the game against Dallas after a scary-looking injury. It’s expected that he will miss significant time. The Habs captain Nick Suzuki is also playing through an injury that has forced him to miss practice for about a week, although it’s unclear the severity of his injury.

The Montreal Canadiens announced Friday that forward Alex Newhook had surgery on a fractured ankle and is expected to be out four months, while defenceman Kaiden Guhle had surgery on a partially torn abductor muscle and is expected to miss 8-10 weeks: https://t.co/HlzX1p3jCg

— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) November 14, 2025

Injuries Piling up, Depth Being Tested

Montreal’s depth is being tested early on, and thus far, they’ve struggled. Joe Veleno has been held pointless since being inserted into the lineup. Josh Anderson, Jake Evans, and Brendan Gallagher combine for just four goals on the year. Zack Bolduc has been held off the scoresheet in twelve of his last 14 games. Now, the team will be forced to make a call-up from Laval to replace Newhook. On Friday, Jared Davidson got the call-up from the AHL’s Laval Rocket. However, expectations need to be tempered for the young forward.

Montreal Canadiens Goalie Struggles Continue

Montreal’s goaltending has been the big storyline of the season. Sam Montembeault has been Montreal’s most disappointing player to start the year. He boasts a 4-4-1 record with an abysmal .857 save percentage. The team’s backup Jakub Dobes, on the other hand, found success early on. He began the year with a perfect 6-0 record before dropping his first contest in overtime to New Jersey. However, this loss seemed to shake Dobes’ confidence. He was very emotional following the game and was pulled in his first start since the loss after allowing five goals on 13 shots.

The duo’s poor play has sparked concern and controversy in Montreal. Head coach Martin St. Louis has been under criticism for not riding the hot hand in Dobes. Many blame him for Dobes losing his confidence as St. Louis repeatedly went back to Montembeault despite his persistent struggles. In an effort to get their starting goalies’ confidence back, it appears that both tenders have suffered.

Offensive Luck Running Out, Trade Imminent?

The main reason for Montreal’s hot start is itsoffensce. They rank in the top ten in both goals and power play percentage. However, the Canadiens offense may not be as prominent as it appears at first glance. They rank 29th in the NHL in shots on goal per game at only 24.7. Despite this, they rank first in shooting percentage, which is a trend that’s hard to maintain. It appears as though Montreal’s offensive luck has dried up. Outside of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Ivan Demidov up front, Montreal doesn’t have the elite offense talent that it appeared to at the beginning of the season.

A trade may be in order to bolster the Habs top six. While Oliver Kapanen has been productive in his rookie year, he and Kirby Dach are not a strong middle-six group. It’s no secret that Montreal is in search of, and could benefit from some help at centre. Furthermore, with the injuries to Laine and Newhook, coupled with Bolduc’s struggles, the Canadiens could also use some help on the wing. Montreal needs some help offensively if it wants to maintain its position as one of the top teams in the East.

Main Photo Credit: Eric Bolte – Imagn Images