This edition of the Hidden Game is dedicated to Zachary Bolduc, Alexandre Texier and Logan Mailloux, all of whom were facing their former teams Sunday night at the Bell Centre.
Certainly they all had something to prove and would play with intensity and passion. No?
Bolduc, who came to the Canadiens in a July 1 trade from St. Louis for Mailloux, had an assist in Montreal’s 4-3 loss. And while he was a plus-1, he failed to generate a shot.
Mailloux, a former first-round draft choice, had a shot, two hits and a pair of blocks along with a giveaway. After nearly putting the puck into his own net in the third period, he was on the receiving end of a deflected shot to the face, suffering a cut to his chin. He was leaking oil fairly badly before receiving attention on the Blues’ bench.
Texier, whom the Canadiens signed on Nov. 23 after he was placed on unconditional waivers by St. Louis, had zero shots, a hit, a giveaway and was minus-one.
The teams meet again Jan. 3 in St. Louis — and we’ll be paying attention.
Captains are supposed to lead: And on this night, that’s exactly what Brayden Schenn accomplished. He paced the visitors with two goals and an assist. For anyone keeping score at home, Schenn now has 12 goals and 31 points in 32 career games against the Canadiens.
Brayden Schenn (#10) of the St. Louis Blues celebrates his goal as goaltender Jakub Dobes of the Montreal Canadiens looks at his net during the first period at the Bell Centre on Sunday, December 7, 2025.
News you need (Part I): Cole Caufield — who else? — tied his career high with an 11-game point streak. He provided Montreal with a 2-1 lead with a late first-period goal, his team-leading 16th this season.
Late goals kill: Well, on most nights they do, and the Canadiens should have felt good going to the first intermission with a 2-1 lead. We’re not sure what transpired in the dressing room during that break, but a one-goal lead turned into a one-goal deficit in the blink of an eye to begin the second period, following a pair of goals within 39 seconds by Dylan Holloway and Pavel Buchnevich. Two shots. Two goals. And only 65 seconds had elapsed.
Thanks for showing up: With Samuel Montembeault sick, the Canadiens recalled goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen from AHL Laval to back up Jakub Dobes and sit on the bench. Kahkonen allowed three goals in 11 minutes to begin Saturday’s game at Belleville, ending his night’s work. Following Sunday’s game, the Canadiens announced he has been loaned back to Laval. At least he received an NHL salary for a day.
He could sue for non-support: While Dobes allowed three goals on the first six shots he faced, the Canadiens forgot how to play defence in front of him to begin the second period. Dobes faced only 18 shots. His save percentage was an embarrassing .778. While Dobes played well during Saturday night’s shootout victory at Toronto, sometimes a goalie has to steal a game and make a save.
Great moments in officiating: Bolduc knocked the stick out of Justin Faulk’s hands in the first period — and was rewarded with a slashing penalty. Faulk might have had one hand on his stick. If you’re going to slash a player, at least leave him with a welt.
Pass of the night (Part I): Bolduc to Lane Hutson on the Canadiens’ opening goal. Hutson deked Jordan Binnington and scored on a backhand.
Pass of the night (Part II): Nick Suzuki, from behind the net, to Caufield on Montreal’s second goal.
News you need (Part II): Caufield had three of the Canadiens’ 11 first-period shots.
Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens handles the puck against Pavel Buchnevich of the St. Louis Blues during the second period at the Bell Centre on Sunday, December 7, 2025.
Where goals go to die: Oliver Kapanen, with one goal in his last nine games, missed two shots — both wide right — within 15 seconds of the second period. Only Terry Baker, a one-time Alouettes kicker, could relate. Kids, ask your parents, or grandparents, to explain.
Misery loves company: After allowing two second-period goals, the Canadiens have a minus-13 goal differential, outscored 41-28. The Blues, by the way, have allowed 39 second-period goals and are minus-12.
How not to play goaltender: Dobes, if nothing else, is entertaining — and unconventional. In the third period, he lost his stick for the second time in the game and was seen sprawled on his chest. Miraculously, the Blues didn’t score.
Where’s the desperation? The Canadiens went nearly nine minutes without a shot to begin the third period.
How not to play defence: Alexandre Carrier was caught up ice on the Blues’ fourth — and winning — goal. Joe Veleno, a defensive specialist with one goal and no assists in 23 games, was also on the ice and caught hopelessly out of position. This all occurred in a one-goal game at the time.
Faceoff of the night: Suzuki beat Robert Thomas. Seconds later, Noah Dobson scored Montreal’s third goal.
Quick stats: Caufield had five shots and two hits. Hutson also had five shots while playing 25:16. Dobson had four shots, but was guilty of five giveaways. Veleno managed four hits, while Juraj Slafkovsky blocked three shots. The Canadiens won only 40.7 per cent of their faceoffs and were outhit 34-14. Their best faceoff man was Kapanen (42 per cent). The worst? Jake Evans (33 per cent).
Mathieu Joseph of the St. Louis Blues falls to the ice skating to the puck against Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at the Bell Centre on Sunday, December 7, 2025.
They said it: “We were right there to tie it up and go to overtime,” Dobes said. “It’s unfortunate. I don’t know what to think right now. I need to rewatch it and see what we could have done better. We were right there. Unfortunately, we lost. They didn’t shoot anything at all; interesting strategy. If it works for them, good. On the third one I felt I made a mistake, overreaching.”
“Two quick breakdowns. That was the difference,” Mike Matheson said. “It’s not rocket science. Two breakdowns lead to two quick goals. Sometimes you have to give credit to the other team. You’re playing very good players that are going to force you into breakdowns sometimes. To say that they’re not going to happen is impossible. We’re trying our best to minimize them. The last two games, we did a pretty good job of that.”
“It was a pretty terrible start to (the second) period,” Hutson said. “That was one of our worst starts to a period. It just happens, I guess.”
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