For the second year in a row, the Habs will be missing Patrik Laine for a big chunk of the season. The team announced Saturday that he will miss the next three to four months after undergoing surgery to repair a core muscle injury.
The home portion of the 2025-26 season got underway for Laval last week with a pair of games against the defending Calder Cup champs. The Rocket put forth a pair of strong efforts to take both games from Abbotsford to extend their early winning streak to three games.
After losing a close game to the Rangers on Saturday, the Habs looked to end their home stand on a winning note on Monday against Buffalo. It took three goals in an eventful third period but they were able to do just that, doubling up the Sabres 4-2.
Montreal’s first home stand of the year featured some very close games with the Habs trailing late in all three of them. However, they were able to come back to win two of them to sit in a tie for first in the division.
The Habs took care of a big piece of business earlier this week when they signed Lane Hutson to an eight-year, $70.8 million extension. Our writers offer up their thoughts on the signing.
After a three-game stint on the road to start the season, the Habs had their home opener on Tuesday against Seattle. Neither team could hold a lead for long, resulting in the game needing overtime where Cole Caufield was the hero, scoring the winner to give Montreal the 5-4 victory.
After signing Lane Hutson to a long-term deal on Monday, Kent Hughes received one for himself. The Canadiens announced Tuesday that they’ve signed Hughes and Jeff Gorton to five-year contract extensions.
Laval kicked off the 2025-26 campaign on the road with a stop in Manitoba to take on the Moose. They didn’t play well in the opener but bounced back in the rematch to split the week.
Over the past few weeks, talks between the Habs and Lane Hutson had intensified but they couldn’t get a deal across the finish line. That isn’t the case anymore as the team announced that they’ve signed the blueliner to an eight-year contract extension.
The Habs kicked off the 2025-26 season with a trio of road games against Original Six franchises. While they didn’t start with a win, they picked up victories in the other two to head home with a solid start to the season.