It would appear the playoffs have started early in Montreal. And Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis is channelling his inner Toe Blake and Punch Imlach.
Following the Tuesday morning team skate at the Bell Centre, St. Louis declined to reveal his starting goaltender or any potential lineup changes for that night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“We’re in playoff mode right now,” St. Louis said.
Memo to the Canadiens’ head coach: Start Jakub Dobes Thursday night at home against Columbus. The rookie netminder made 41 saves in the Canadiens’ electrifying 5-2 victory against Carolina, including all 17 shots in the third period while Montreal clung to a 3-2 lead. His save percentage on the night was .953. And to top it all off, Dobes wasn’t made available to the media post-game. So much for being the conduit to the people who pay the players’ salaries.
News you need (Part I): The 43 shots peppered at Dobes were the most allowed this season by the Canadiens. On Nov. 4 against Philadelphia and on Jan. 13 at Washington, Montreal allowed 42 shots. They lost both games — a shootout to the Flyers and in overtime against the Capitals.
If you liked this game: The Canadiens and Hurricanes meet again Sunday in Raleigh, N.C. — the second game of Montreal’s coming five-game road trip. Although Carolina is first in the Metropolitan Division, it has now lost twice this season to the Canadiens while being outscored 12-7.
Strange, but true (Part I): Carolina is on the verge of making the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season, but has yet to reach the Stanley Cup final during that span. The Hurricanes have reached the Eastern Conference final three times in that period and lost 12 of 13 games in the round.
Strange, but true (Part II): While Carolina has scored at least four goals in 10 of its last 14 games since the Winter Olympics, it also has allowed at least four goals in seven of those contests.
How the mighty have fallen: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, selected third overall by the Canadiens in 2018, was a healthy scratch for the 10th consecutive game — and the 34th time this season. He has two goals and nine points in 37 games, and might be the most lamentable athlete since former Alouettes quarterback Ted White. Terry Baker, of course, gave White a run for his money.
D’oh: Mike Matheson, not having a good week going back to Thursday’s game at Detroit, deflected the puck past Dobes on Carolina’s opening goal.
How not to play defence (Part I): Matheson lost his stick and Noah Dobson was out of position. That left Jordan Staal alone in front of Dobes on the visitors’ second goal. Barely seven minutes into the game, the Canadiens were trailing 2-0.
Carolina Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal scores a goal past Montreal Canadiens’ Jakub Dobes during the first period of a National Hockey League game in Montreal on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
News you need (Part II): With slightly more than 12 minutes remaining in the period, the Canadiens were being outshot 10-1.
Who cares? Montreal scored on its third shot as Oliver Kapanen deflected Jayden Struble’s harmless-looking effort from the blue line.
Stat of the period: Kaiden Guhle had four hits through 20 minutes.
Sieve of the night: Goalie Frederik Andersen, getting a rare start for a second consecutive game, was beaten on the third, eighth, ninth and 17th shots he faced. His save percentage was .778. Perhaps he believes he still plays for Toronto?
Friendly fire: Late in the second period, Dobes had to stop an Alexandre Carrier deflection of a Seth Jarvis shot.
News you need (Part III): Juraj Slafkovsky — he of the fresh buzz-cut — had a goal and an assist, stretching his point streak to seven games.
Canadiens’ Juraj Slafkovsky tips a shot past Carolina Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen for a goal during the second period of a National Hockey League game in Montreal on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
News you need (Part IV): After allowing two New York Islanders power-play goals on Saturday in their 7-3 win, the Canadiens surrendered one more to Carolina.
How to play defence: In the eighth minute of the third period, Dobson was beaten on a play, but then took the puck from Taylor Hall.
How not to play defence (Part II): About three minutes later, Nikolaj Ehlers deked three Canadiens and directed a shot on Dobes.
Turnover of the night: K’Andre Miller lost the puck to Ivan Demidov at the Carolina blue line, providing the Russian rookie with a breakaway. He deked to his forehand, scoring his 15th goal this season. It was only the Canadiens’ second of four shots in the third period.
Saves of the night: Not only did Dobes stop a Hall breakaway in the first period, he thwarted a Logan Stankoven breakaway with less than four minutes remaining in regulation time. A goal would have narrowed Montreal’s lead to 4-3.
This will happen eventually: Dobes will score at least one goal in his career — guaranteed. With the Hurricanes’ net empty, he stopped an Ehlers shot and then motioned as though he was going to attempt a shot.
Next time, decline the penalty: The Canadiens went 0-for-3 with the man advantage. That included a two-man advantage for 39 seconds in the second period.
Quick stats: No Canadiens player had more than two shots on a night in which they only had 19 in total. Guhle had eight hits. Josh Anderson had three hits. The Canadiens blocked 23 shots — four by Matheson, three each by Lane Hutson, Nick Suzuki and Slafkovsky. Matheson played 21:44. Brendan Gallagher played 10:18. The Canadiens won 50 per cent of their faceoffs and outhit Carolina 22-19.
They said it: “The start was pretty sloppy,” Suzuki said. “The first 10 minutes we weren’t really playing hockey. It was a great battle back. We could have let that slip away. We found our game after that. We stick with the process. We know that it works and we can come back in games. Dobes made some big breakaway saves. He made some big saves for us and definitely was a big reason why we won.”
“Dobes was unreal,” said Cole Caufield, who scored his 44th goal this season. “He has been doing it all year. He competes. He battles. He always gives us a chance and keeps us in games. I don’t know if we adjusted. We just found our game a little bit later than expected. I don’t think there was any panic. I liked how we played. We didn’t freak out after going down by two.”
“We have to learn that we can’t fall asleep at the start,” Slafkovsky said. “Our execution has to be at the top level against a team like that. Play our best game and make them defend. Pretty much what they were doing to us. I think this game shows how good of a group we are, how we fight for each other. We’re always there.
“He (Dobes) was pretty good,” Slafkovsky quipped. “I think we were yelling from the bench for him to shoot it. I hope for him he scores. I’ll pass it to him.”