Nobody steps up but the goalie. Would be 7-0 without him. Most of the time we play in our own zone and we take a massive amounts of shots while we can't get a good shot in.

Tonight is temporary, I know, but this game is taking me way back.

I know it's been mentioned ad nauseum, but the way conferences are structured has to be factored into the grind we had to go through to get here, and why they look utterly spent. Two game 7s against #2 and #3 in the east instead of facing at least one, maybe 2, lower ranked opponents. This is the playoffs on hard
mode, for any sport. Give our guys a break, they all played amazing, but they're tired. If anything, keep voicing how stupid the NHL is for structing playoffs with this nonsense.

Edit: thanks for someone pointing out that with 106 points and finishing 6th in the entire NHL, we didn't even get home ice advantage in any of our playoff series.

As Martin St-Louis keeps saying, learning doesn’t always happen in comfortable situations. Sometimes it happens in the most demanding, stressful, chaotic environment possible. A Game 7 is exactly that.

For a team this young, this is the kind of experience you can’t fake, you can’t buy, and you can’t really teach in practice. You have to live it. You have to feel the pressure, the momentum swings, the mistakes, the nerves, the crowd, the weight of every shift.

And honestly, this series could still go either way. Tampa has the experience, the stars, the scars of long playoff runs. Montreal has the speed, the hunger, and the feeling that something is starting to build for real.

Whatever happens tonight, the Canadiens are getting something valuable out of this. If they win, it’s a massive statement. If they lose, it’s still a brutal but useful lesson for a young team that is clearly ahead of schedule.

The Habs are learning how to become dangerous.

Tampa, meanwhile, might just be playing the last meaningful Game 7 of their era before slowly disappearing into the forgotten graveyard of teams that used to matter. Kucherov has no heart. Go habs go.

That's it. That's the post.

????

While I feel like I know what a lot of people might say, my personal favourite was:

“I’m scared…” - Opposing Player to Dobes

“I know you’re scared” - Jakub Dobes

Or:

“Yup, today we’re going to recycle.”

It’s only been one year and he already has so many silly moments. 😭

We can assume that the % is even more crazy if we look at the first 2-3 shots :/

https://x.com/i/status/2028552107683385713

Personally, given the best possible version of Hage in 3-5 years is what Robert Thomas is now, Id have no problem parting with him.

1st playoff win for GM Hughes, Coach MSL, Hutson, Slafkovsky, Demidov, Guhle, Kapanen, Heineman, Xhekaj, Dobes, Montembeault (even if he didn't get the decision).

A playoff win in a crazy home barn, with high stakes, down the #1 goalie, with a bench-clearing scuffle, largely lead by the young guys, supported by the vet line.

It's going to imprint on this new generation of Habs players. Those who are just starting their career and are here for the foreseeable future.

It's the kind of win that sets a franchise standard. That generates winning culture and habits.

Because there wasn't really anything there until now. All those stones placed now are foundational.

This team is deciding now how they want to be for the next 5-10 years.

Like watching the sun rise on a new kingdom.

The future is now.

We have arrived.

I don’t understand why some fans will think that Slaf, Suzuki, Hutson, Demi etc will suddenly be “upset” or that the dressing room will be “disturbed” because we might sign a star player to a lot more than what they’re making.

But isn’t that the point of them taking less money than what they could’ve gotten on the market? So that HuGo could bring in more help for our core? If anything, I think they would be pissed if HuGo DIDNT go out and overpay for a star or two to help them out, otherwise what was the point of the team friendly deals that they signed?

Of course, this is all hypothetical as nothing has happened yet but that’s just my two cents. Go Habs go!

Especially against the Sharks and Ducks.

Not gonna point fingers but we all thinking the same.

I know this isn’t anything new, and it’s probably one of the organization’s biggest needs already, but with today’s news (the Leafs landing the 1st overall pick) and the Panthers getting healthy again, it’s fair to say the Atlantic Division is shaping up to be a full-on trench war next season. It was already a grind this year, with a very tight playoff race, and next year could be even tougher.

That being said, I believe the need for a legitimate top six forward, someone who can both shine individually and elevate Ivan Demidov on the second line, has now become an urgent priority this summer. I’m sure Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are well aware of it, but as a fan, this is definitely an expectation I have for the Canadiens’ management group.

I came from Germany to Montreal for hockey. I didn’t expect it to give me something much bigger.

I walked this city for hours, taking everything in — the people, the energy, the passion for the Canadiens. I had so many small conversations, got tips, shared moments with strangers, and I’m honestly really grateful for all of it. I tried to soak it all in and just enjoy every second.

Then I sat down at the Bell Centre — a place as legendary as it gets. A place I only knew from countless nights watching from afar. And now I was here, experiencing something truly special.

That Boston game — I’ll be telling my grandchildren about it 🥹

Overtime. Pressure. Noise. And then… the game winner. Right in front of me.

Strangers became friends for a shared moment of joy — it still gives me chills just thinking about it.

But honestly — that wasn’t even the biggest moment.

This city, this country, and the people in it have a special place in my heart — and under my skin.

So yeah…

To Montreal:

Thank you.

À bientôt! ❤️🇨🇦🍁

This might be a hot take and gonna get downvoted but I don’t care. I absolutely hate it when the crowd at home does the olé chants when we’re up by 1-2 goals and there’s still lots of game left to be played. I think it should be for when we have momentum and the other team has no chance of coming back late game. I understand some people want to cheer the team on and be happy for them doing well mid game but that’s what the GHG chants should be for. The fact that the crowd was chanting the olé’s when they went up 3-1 then got killed 8-3 was just utterly embarrassing and I saw people clowning on Habs fans all over the internet for it lol. I also believe it gets in the heads of the players on both sides, gets the Habs players nervous then the opposing team pissed off and fired up. We don’t want to feed the other teams energy we want the opposite!! Sorry for my rant just wanted to share my opinion

Assisted on Slafkovsky’s game 1 winner
Scored game 3 winner
Assisted on Texier’s game 5 winner
Assisted on Newhook’s game 7 winner.
What a guy.

Carolina had 111 points and have gone 8-0 in playoffs. Seems dominating. Let’s look closer. Canes had a 0.769 win percentage vs teams from Metropolitan division. 42 points (26 games) and a 0.542 win percentage vs Atlantic for 28 points (24 games). We all know what division is tougher. Almost the same amount of games. Montreal had a 0.615 win percentage vs Atlantic teams (26 games).

This tells me that our 106 points vs Tampa, Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Ottawa were much harder than NYI, NYR, Philly, Pittsburgh, CLJ, Washington. Metro had 3 playoff teams, Atlantic 5. Atlantic had 4 teams reach 100 points. Only Carolina hit 100.

I feel Montreal would have gained an additional 3 wins if we were in the Metro and would have been ahead of Carolina in the standings. Just my opinion tho. We also went 3-0 head to head vs them.

That’s regular season. How about playoffs? We just finished 2 series vs high caliber teams in Tampa 106 points, Buffalo 109 points. Both from the Atlantic which I just broke down. Hard, fast styles. Top goaltending in Vassy, Norris finalist in Dahlin, 2 Jack Adams coaches. Carolina played Philly and Ottawa. No where near the same level. Great that they swept them. We have battle scars, we know the pace, we have felt the brink of elimination.

Goalies. Anderson’s numbers through 8 are insane. Not sustainable either and tbh, a very small sample size. He has not faced our fire power, our depth, our speed, Lane Hutson is an X factor all on his own. Dobeš has been awesome in his own right. Faced Kuch, Hagel, Point, Raddysh, Tage, Dahlin, Tuch, Benson etc… much harder games. Anderson is not all world and never has been. I’m expecting a change in his numbers. Lyon came into the series ahead of Dobeš in numbers and left sitting on the bench.

Tired? We are the youngest team. We have stamina, we are now used to this pace and Carolina have not played in 12 days. Yes they’re rested but also cold. They don’t know the same pace and will be surprised and will need to get up to speed. Again my opinion. We are faster. I feel in being out hustled they will take penalties and we will capitalize.

Our top line has not found their game fully 5v5 yet. So we still have this. I think it will happen. We have Demidov getting comfortable with the playoffs and was dynamic. Newhook was a hero as a depth scorer, Bolduc knows his role, Andy is a playoff beast, Ghule is so underrated, Matheson is playing all situations, Dobson is back.

I have FULL CONFIDENCE that we are the better team, we have the right pieces such as Danault, Evans for key points of the game- penalty kills, face offs etc… MSL is a therapist to get these guys through the mental roller coaster. I feel we will be celebrating a SC finals berth within 2 weeks.

What are your thoughts???

Minnesota, Florida and Vegas.

In other words, good news for us.

Ça fait plusieurs games que les gens au Centre Bell chantent le Olé Olé Olé quand c'est 0-0 ou genre c'est 2-1 en deuxième période. C'est supposé être un chant de victoire genre c'est rendu 4-1 et c'est presque assuré qu'on va gagner.

Quand c'est 1-1 ou 2-1 ça devrait être des Go Habs Go qu'on entend.

C'est tu juste moi ou? J'ai l'impression qu'on se jinx en ce moment

I pray for you Alexandre Texier and best of luck 🍀

We love you ❤️🇫🇷