The start of the second round wasn’t great for the Habs in the season opener but they bounced back nicely to take a series lead after the first week with their offence springing to life over the last two games.
Following Laval’s loss at the hands of the Marlies this week, the Habs were able to make their end-of-season ‘Black Ace’ recalls. It’s a smaller group than usual, with only four players getting the nod.
After squaring up the series to gain home ice advantage, the Habs returned home on Sunday to try to capitalize on that advantage. They didn’t start well but it didn’t matter as they picked up the 6-2 win to take a 2-1 series lead.
The Habs needed a bounce-back game in Buffalo on Friday night and they got it. Alex Newhook scored twice while a pair of blueliners scored as well, helping pace Montreal to a 5-1 win to tie the series at one game apiece.
Game 1 of the second round was not as successful for the Habs as the first game against Tampa Bay was. Montreal found itself down early on Wednesday night and never recovered, falling 4-2.
Montreal’s second-round series gets underway tonight in Buffalo. Here are some numbers to keep in mind as the series goes along.
With Montreal’s second round set to start tonight, our latest podcast takes a look back at the Tampa Bay series plus some discussion about their series against the Sabres.
For the second straight day, a forward from the Habs has been named as a finalist for an end-of-season award. This time, it’s Nick Suzuki as he is one of the three remaining contenders for the Selke Trophy.
Following Tuesday’s initial draw for the Draft Lottery (won by Toronto), the NHL named the three finalists for the Calder Trophy. As expected, Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov was listed among them.
Part two of our 2026 second-round predictions looks at the Canadiens-Sabres series along with the Golden Knights-Ducks series.