The Montreal Canadiens hadn’t played at the Bell Centre since December 20, when they blanked the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0. On Wednesday night, they gave the fans exactly what they wanted to see: a convincing win against a struggling Calgary Flames side. In front of a packed arena, Martin St-Louis’ men gave a full 60-minute effort, and the outcome was never really in doubt.

Although it should have been Jakub Dobes’ turn to play if St-Louis stuck with the alternance system, it was Jacob Fowler who was manning the Canadiens’ net. The way he played won’t make it easy for the team to send him back to the Laval Rocket eventually. Calm, cool and collected, he looks like a veteran in net. He oozes confidence, and it’s evident that his teammates are just as confident when he’s between the posts.

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Team USA’s Loss

Watching Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield play in this game, it was hard to fathom that Team USA had decided to leave them both at home for the upcoming Olympic Games in Milano Cortina. When the diminutive sniper was asked about missing the tournament on Wednesday morning, he simply replied, “It sucks.”

Caufield once again showcased how talented he was when he scored the fourth goal of the game. He caught the puck at waist level, slapped it down on the ice and beat Dustin Wolf with a perfect shot in the top corner, sending Habs fans to their feet.

As for Hutson, he scored for a second game in a row, and since his goal was the game-winning one, he tied P.K. Subban and Peter Svoboda for the second most game-winning goals in a season by a Canadiens’ defenseman aged 21 or under with three. That was his eighth goal of the season; he’s already eclipsed the goal total from his rookie season, which was six, and he still has half a season to go.

The defenseman also led the team in shots blocked tonight with five, and he even outmuscled Mackenzie Weegar in a one-on-one battle. The Flames blueliner has three inches and 44 pounds on him. The 21-year-old rearguard doesn’t get near enough credit for his defensive game.

No Place Like Home

Tonight marked Phillip Danault’s (second) first home game with the Canadiens, and he had an incredible game. No forward had more time on the ice for the Habs than he did, with 11 minutes and 22 seconds and at the faceoff dot, he pulled off a fantastic performance, winning 87% of his draws and collecting the primary assist on Hutson’s goal.

In seven games with the Habs, he has three points, while he had just five in 30 games with the Los Angeles Kings. The last time the centerman had played for the Sainte-Flanelle at the Bell Center, there were only 10,000 fans in the stands because of COVID-19 restrictions. Tonight, it was a packed house, and the Victoriaville native called the atmosphere electric. It’s hard not to agree, given the fact that in the final frame, there was a wave going around the building during a whole TV timeout, and the noise was deafening.

Speaking after the game, Danault said that the Bell Centre was on a whole other level compared to other buildings around the league, home sweet home, as they say.

A Flying Frenchman

Alexandre Texier probably didn’t think he would end up on a line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield when he signed with the Canadiens, and chances are, he wouldn’t have been if there weren’t as many injuries, but he’s making the most of the incredible opportunity he has.

Set to represent France at the upcoming Olympics, the Frenchman had the first three-point game of his career and became just the third French player to reach 100-career points in the NHL after Antoine Roussel and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

He showed some incredible hands in the second frame when he beat Dustin Wolf up high near post on the doorstep to get the Canadiens’ first goal of the game, and he added assists on both Hutson’s and Suzuki’s goals.

His three-point effort earned him the first star of the game, and he was literally beaming with pride when Marc Denis interviewed him at centre ice.

While everything went well on the ice for the Canadiens tonight, the same cannot be said off the ice. Before the game, Kirby Dach was seen wearing a walking boot on his injured foot, indicating he is behind schedule in his recovery. The situation must be unbearable for the forward who is currently playing the last year of the three-season bridge deal he signed when the Habs first acquired him. It feels like he hasn’t really had the time to show what he can do, and there’s no doubt that it must play on his mind. As for Josh Anderson, the team confirmed he has an upper-body injury but couldn’t provide a timetable for his return.

Montreal won’t have much time to celebrate this win, as it faces the Florida Panthers for the second time in as many weeks on Thursday night.

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