These Habs Just Find Ways to Win

Ladies and gentlemen, the Montreal Canadiens have done it again.

After escaping the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning in a grueling seven-game series, the Canadiens worked their magic once again in their second Game 7 of these Stanley Cup Playoffs, beating the Buffalo Sabres four games to three in what was an epic series between two of, in my opinion, the two best up-and-coming teams in the Atlantic Division.

I expect this to become a regular playoff matchup between these two rivals for the foreseeable future, and in the first of what I expect to be several playoff battles over the next decade, the Canadiens took it this time around.

Now the Habs sit just eight wins away, halfway to the franchise's 25th Stanley Cup.

And this has happened way earlier than I even expected as a fan throughout this rebuild.

These last five years have been crazy for the franchise.

In 2021, you unexpectedly make the Stanley Cup Final. In 2022, you finish at the bottom of the league in one of the biggest drop-offs from one season to the next in NHL history. That gets you the first overall pick where you take Juraj Slafkovsky.

Then in 2023 and 2024, there are improvements, but you're still picking in the top five both years.

Then last season, you surprise everyone and make the playoffs, only to get absolutely dominated in the first round by the Washington Capitals.

And now in 2026, they are back in the Eastern Conference Finals and are just four wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2021.

This has been one of the greatest and most fun playoff runs I've seen as a Canadiens fan in recent memory, and honestly, this is probably the most fun team I've watched throughout my entire fandom.

And what makes them so fun to watch, what makes this team so enjoyable to be a fan of, is simple. They just find ways to win.

That is a skill in this league.

You've seen teams before, like the Toronto Maple Leafs over the past several years. Those teams may have been more talented on paper, but they just couldn't find ways to win. They would choke in the biggest moments.

And the Canadiens, while they've struggled on home ice (which has honestly been one of their biggest problems throughout this postseason) and has been where they have played their worst, on the road they find ways to win.

They're road warriors.

They've only lost two road games this entire postseason, one of them being in overtime. In both series they've won three out of four road games, including two road Game 7 victories thanks to Alex Newhook scoring both game winners.

Jakub Dobes, after probably the worst game of his postseason in Game 6 against Buffalo, an 8-3 loss that honestly wasn't on him at all. He allowed six goals and was pulled, yet still somehow finished with a positive goals saved above expected.

That tells you everything you need to know about how bad the team in front of him played that night.

But he has this warrior mentality, this dog mentality. He's cool, calm, and collected, and he's been sensational throughout these playoffs. To me, he's been the MVP of this team during the postseason.

He's stepped up the most when his team has needed it.

And this whole team, is what an actual team looks like.

When your top players like Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky have struggled, and Nick Suzuki struggled for a majority of the first round (although I thought Suzuki played really well in this Buffalo series), the only real star they've consistently been able to count on has been Lane Hudson, the second-year defenseman who's shown the hockey world he very well may be a top-five defenseman in the world right now.

But it's been their depth has won them these series so far.

Whether it's been Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach, Zach Bolduc, Alexander Texier, Josh Anderson, or on defense guys like Kaiden Ghule or Mike Matheson.

Matheson had a really strong first round and struggled more in the second, but collectively this team has just found ways to win together.

On the bench, Marty St. Louis has remained calm throughout the entire postseason. Apparently he's been fantastic in the locker room with his speeches, and I think what makes him able to relate to this group is that he isn't far removed from playing.

He understands what playoff hockey feels like. He's been in these moments before. He's been in these tense situations. He's able to calm them down and let them just play hockey, and I think that's a huge reason why they've been so great on the road.

I just don't think they've fully handled the pressure of the Bell Centre, and they seem to enjoy going into hostile environments and winning.

Now looking ahead to Carolina, besides the fact Montreal went 3-0 against them in the regular season (which I really don't take much from) this is going to be a battle and probably their toughest test yet.

The Hurricanes have had 12 days off after sweeping through the first two rounds. They're 8-0 and have played the fewest games possible at this stage, while Montreal has played the most possible with two Game 7s.

But I've reached a point where I'm just not going to lose faith in this team unless they're down 3-0 in a series.

They've just found ways to bounce back all year long. They haven't lost back-to-back games since March 14th and 15th. That is just insane.

It's been more than two months since they've lost consecutive games.

They always respond.

We saw it after Game 6 against Buffalo. They came back in Game 7, and while they did get outplayed, I will say that, they found a way to win once again.

And that's all that matters this time of year. Just survive and advance.

Like I said earlier, this is going to be the toughest challenge they've faced yet. Carolina has been the best team in the East all season long and it's why they are considered the heavy favourites going into this series.

But I like the matchup for the Habs.

I think there's going to be open space for the top line to finally get going. I expect Cole Caufield to be better. I expect Ivan Demidov to be better.

The big question for me is whether Juraj Slafkovsky can get back on track because outside of Game 1 against Tampa, he really hasn't been that great this postseason.

I expect Lane Hudson to continue being great.

And I think there's a real chance this series ends up having way more offense than people expect.

People think of Carolina as this defensive team that takes away scoring chances, but Montreal has had success against them this season as in two of the three games they played against them, the Habs were able to score seven goals in one game and five in another.

So I expect them to stick around in this series.

I'm not making an official prediction because obviously I'm going to say the Canadiens are going to win. That's more my heart talking than my head.

But what the Habs have proven these playoffs is that they just find ways to win.

They don't tighten up in moments where you'd expect a young team to crack.

They're the youngest team ever to make the Conference Finals, tying the 1993 Montreal Canadiens team that went on to win the Stanley Cup.

They've spent the entire season bouncing back, exceeding expectations, and finding ways to win.

Now they have to do it one more time in the Eastern Conference Finals to reach the Stanley Cup Final and complete what would, in my opinion, be perhaps the fastest rebuild of this NHL century.

The Habs just find ways to win.

Jakub Dobes has been sensational.

Marty St. Louis has found ways to keep them calm.

And yes, Carolina is going to be a massive challenge.

But why would I start doubting them now?

Go Habs Go!