MONTREAL — Before the season, Montreal Canadiens players said they were tired of watching teammates pack their bags and move on to Stanley Cup contenders at springtime.
The Canadiens are doing everything in their power to make general manager Kent Hughes think twice about being a trade-deadline seller for a fourth consecutive year.
Mike Matheson scored at 1:21 of overtime, and the surging Montreal Canadiens won their fifth consecutive game with a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
“Kent will tell you — he’s happy,” said veteran forward Brendan Gallagher, playing his 13th season in Montreal. “He’s happy to be in this situation, nobody wants to be sellers, everybody wants to be contending.”
Nick Suzuki had a goal and three assists for the Canadiens who, despite blowing a 3-0 lead, remained undefeated since the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Montreal (30-26-5, 65 points) moved to within a point of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, although eight teams are arguably in the hunt for two spots.
“It’s not gonna be easy, but we believe in here. It’s definitely (possible). What are we, one point back?” Gallagher said. “We play good hockey, we take care of our own business, we believe that at the end of the year we’ll be where we want to be.”
Pending unrestricted free agents Jake Evans, Joel Armia and David Savard have seen their names in the rumour mill ahead of Friday’s deadline.
Montreal heads out on a four-game road trip beginning Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers, meaning all three players could have played their final game for the Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
“There's probably some guys here that are so nervous,” goalie Sam Montembeault said. “It's obviously not easy, but we have such a tight group here. Everybody wants to have everybody back and I think the way we've been playing, maybe it's going to make their job a little bit difficult.
“But we trust their plan, we trust what they're doing.”
Evans, in particular, has proven he could be an important piece for the future with his play this season.
The defensively responsible 28-year-old centre has 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points, one shy of tying his career high with more than 20 games remaining, but media reports suggest he and the Canadiens’ brass are far apart on a contract extension.
“He’s done everything he could, he’s controlled what he can control and played good hockey,” Gallagher said. “It’s obviously not an ideal situation, but as a group we love Jakey, we love to have him around. We’ll let it unfold, see how it plays out.”
The Canadiens are reaching their stated goal of being “in the mix” for the playoffs and playing meaningful games later in the season, unlike the past three years where they’ve dwelled near the NHL’s basement.
Playoffs or not, head coach Martin St. Louis hopes the post-season chase will help the team grow.
“Our playoffs have started,” St. Louis said at morning skate Monday. “We’ve been in playoff mode for a long time, because we’re chasing the standings. Every game for us feels like a Game 7. Gotta win, gotta win. And to me those pressure moments, they’re real reps for the guys.”
The Canadiens pulled out the win Monday — but it wasn’t pretty. After taking a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes, the Canadiens were outscored 3-0 and outshot 27-11 in the second and third periods.
St. Louis, however, focused on the big result post-game.
“We went and grabbed two big points,” he said. “There are times in a season, with where the team is emotionally and mentally, you try not to nitpick things. We’ll look at stuff, but it’s not easy to beat a team four times in one season, and two games in a row. But it’s a big two points.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
