As the 2025-26 season hits the final big stretch, the Montreal Canadiens find themselves in a position to make the playoffs in what is a tight Atlantic Division race. However, the path to a postseason berth is rarely linear. For this roster, it is a battle between an increasingly sophisticated offensive engine and a defensive structure that still occasionally looks like a work in progress.
Controlling the Flow
When you dig into how this team is actually playing, ignoring the scoreboards for a moment, the growth is evident. Montreal has moved away from being a counter-punch team that relies on odd-man rushes. They are now legitimately controlling the play at even strength. They’re winning more puck battles, sustaining longer offensive zone shifts, and forcing more turnovers than in recent memory.
The Fowler Factor
The biggest storyline in the city right now isn’t a trade, it’s a recall. The decision to bring Jacob Fowler up from the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League (AHL) wasn’t just a reward for good play, it was a necessity.
Samuel Montembeault has struggled a lot this season, and Jakub Dobeš has provided flashes of solid play, but flashes don’t win a playoff spot. Inconsistency in net is a virus that infects the rest of the team. When a defenceman doesn’t trust his goalie to stop the initial shot, he starts cheating on his coverage, and the whole system collapses.
Fowler arrives with a level of hype that can be dangerous in a market like Montreal. He has played earlier in the season with the Canadiens. He felt the level he needs to play at in the NHL. The situation will still be a whole lot different. There is simply more pressure at this time of the year with a playoff spot ahead.
We’ve seen this movie before: the young saviour stepping in to stabilize a sinking ship. Historically, we look back at legendary rookie runs and wonder if lightning can strike twice. While it’s unfair to compare a kid with a handful of starts to the icons of the past, the poise Fowler has shown is undeniable. He doesn’t just stop the puck; he calms the room.
Who Starts Game 1?
This brings us to the question dominating every sports radio show in the province: if the Canadiens clinch a spot, who leads them out of the tunnel for Game 1?
In a traditional rebuild, you would lean on the veteran. Montembeault has the most experience and has shown he can handle the heavy workload of a starter. However, his struggles this season to find a consistent rhythm have opened the door wide. Then there is Dobeš, who has technically been the most winning goalie of the trio this season, even if his individual numbers are not spectacular.
Related: What’s Next for Patrik Laine and the Canadiens After a Disappointing Trade Deadline
But the momentum is clearly behind Fowler. Management didn’t recall him just to sit on the bench. They want to see if he can handle the heat of a playoff race before the stakes get even higher. If Fowler continues to provide league-average or better stability while the other two struggle to find their footing, the coaching staff may be forced to ignore the experience factor entirely.
Starting a rookie in the playoffs is a massive gamble, one that can either make a legend or break a prospect’s confidence. But in Montreal, where the ghost of Patrick Roy still haunts the rafters, there is a historical precedent for riding the hot hand, regardless of the age on the player’s ID.
Can They Hold On?
The Atlantic Division is a meat grinder. A young roster, no matter how talented, is prone to the kind of mental fatigue mistakes that veteran teams exploit. The Canadiens have the talent to stay in the hunt, but the margin for error has evaporated.
The emergence of Fowler gives them a fighting chance, and the offensive growth of the blue line provides the scoring depth they’ve lacked for years. However, until they can tighten the screws on the defensive side of the red line and stop the bleeding on the penalty kill, they are playing a high-wire act without a net. It’s going to be a fascinating month of hockey. Whether they make it or not, the rebuild is effectively over. This is about results now.
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