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Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacob Fowler (Joe Puetz-Imagn Images)

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Grading the Canadiens’ Month of October

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Edgar Chaput | Last updated Nov 3, 2026 8:35 AM ET

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As the calendar flips to November, the Montreal Canadiens have a little over a month of hockey and 14 games in the archives. As they commence the new month with a home game on Nov. 3 against the Winnipeg Jets, it feels like a prudent moment to sift through the highs and lows of October. What worked? What didn’t? Who played well? Who didn’t? For the purposes of the exercise, their opening night game on Sept. 29 will be included.

Canadiens Attack: A Middle of the Road Club

Defence may win championships, but even when posting a shutout, the offence must put the biscuit into the basket at least once. With that in mind, the evaluation begins with what most fans like talking about anyway: goals!

Generally speaking, Montreal is off to a lukewarm start. Many of the general statistics place them as a fairly average team, whereas a few stat categories that perk the ears of hockey data nerds favour the club a bit more.

Going off the numbers provided by Hockey Reference as of Nov. 2 (before the evening’s games), Martin St. Louis’ attacking ensemble is ranked 15^th in the NHL. They aren’t terrible, but they haven’t wowed yet. Their 46 goals for are a far cry from the ludicrous 63 the Edmonton Oilers have netted, but vastly superior to the woeful 28 earned by the Columbus Blue Jackets. By virtue of having played in only 14 contests, the goals scored per game (GF/G) is 3.29, good for a slightly higher 13^th ranking.

It doesn’t help that the Canadiens have only fired 385 shots on target, which puts them in the bottom half of the league (19^th) and translates to a shooting efficiency (S%) of 11.9 percent. That figure also slots the Canadiens in a grey zone: 15^th place.

Some nerdy data speaks more kindly of the team’s efforts. Their goals for above expected is 2.77, which may not sound like a lot, but that number is good for 6^th in the entire NHL. They can also take solace in being 8^th best in goals differential above expected with a healthy 4.25.

As for individual performances, no one has stood out. Granted, Nick Suzuki – the all-important first-line centre – has been out for close to two weeks by now. Ivan Demidov has missed action for a month. That may help explain some of the less-than-enviable numbers, but the facts still speak for themselves.

Only Cole Caufield cracks the top 30 in goals scored with eight. Lane Hutson is 40^th in assists with 10 so far. The beguiling blueliner is the top Canadiens player with 13 total points, but that only ranks 64^th in the NHL. His plus/minus of plus-8 is good for 31^st.

Grade: B-

Canadiens’ Defence: Getting the Job Done

So, what of that all-important, championship-winning side of the game: defence? This favours the Canadiens more than their attack. After all, they’re currently second in the Atlantic Division behind only the Boston Bruins, so they must be doing something right.

Starting with the basics, they’ve only coughed up 42 goals through 14 matches. That number puts them in 12^thplace, and the per-game figure of exactly 3.00 is also 12^th best in the league.

Funnily enough, their goalies – Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobes – have had to parry 386 shots on target, which is no better than 15^th. That said, when considering how sensationally Fowler has performed, it helps explain the collective .891 save percentage (SV%), the eighth-best league-wide.

Once again, it’s some of the more “in the weeds” statistics that really propel Montreal. Their goals against above expected is an honourable minus-1.48, placing them 11^th. The overall expected goals against is an even better 9^th, thanks to a 26.48 figure.

Grade: B+

Special Teams: A Case of Schizophrenia

Oh boy. The special teams category is a tale of two vastly different experiences.

Montreal can boast a relatively healthy 81.82 percent efficiency when killing penalties. It places them 11^th in the NHL. Thank goodness for that, because the club spends 10.8 minutes per match in the sin bin, making them the 8^th most penalized side. That the 10 power-play goals they have conceded only puts them 16^th is not too troublesome when considering that four goals separate the 10^th-best Bruins (12) and 25^th-ranked Tampa Bay Lightning (eight).

But that isn’t the only reason why the Canadiens can look at that penalty kill percentage and come away relatively satisfied. It masks a much, much bigger problem: the power play (PP%).

Ladies and gentlemen, as of Nov. 2, the Canadiens are the worst out of all 32 teams when on the man advantage. True enough, they have only benefited from the 25^th-most opportunities (42), but that is a poor excuse to explain the 9.52 percent efficiency.

A trio of hard truths stand out. First, that is a very low number. Second, they are the only club with a PP% in single digits. Third, their nearest rival, the Chicago Blackhawks, are two full percentage points better (11.63 percent). Dreadful.

Grade: C-

Best Line: The French Connection

We’ve written about these players before at The Hockey Writers, but the trio formed by Zachary Bolduc, Phillip Danault, and Alexandre Texier has been a lot of fun to watch. They can be lovingly nicknamed The French Connection even though one-third of the players are from France (Texier, a native of Grenoble). This trio has moxie to spare.

It’s also nice to see a third line (and sometimes second) perform well and speak the language the majority of the team’s fanbase prefers to communicate with. Yes, with effort Suzuki can provide some simple answers in Moliere’s tongue, but Bolduc, Danault, and Texier are playing very solid hockey, have great chemistry, and relate that much more easily with supporters.

Montreal Canadiens forward Zachary Bolduc celebrates with teammate forward Phillip Danault after scoring a goal (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)

Together they have tallied 18 points, which represents a solid 14.75 percent of the 122 points all players on the roster have earned.

According to MoneyPuck data, their line, which has played 109.4 minutes, has an expected goals for (xGF) of exactly six, earning them 14^th place in the NHL. Two lines in the top 13have played less than 100 minutes together; otherwise, they’d be 12^th.

Lastly, for what it’s worth, Bolduc has two of the team’s four power-play markers, and Texier has one of the team’s seven assists on the man advantage. As for Danault, fellow Hockey Writers scribe Blain Potvin believes he’d be worth keeping past July 1, 2027.

Grade: B+

MVP: Jacob Fowler

This point seems beyond dispute. The 21-year-old Fowler (soon to be 22 later this month) has stolen the spotlight and fans’ hearts. From a developmental project to possibly the Canadiens starting goalie for the rest of the season, Fowler has impressed and then some.

He has a SV% of .932 through eight contests. That’s the second-best among all netminders. To be fair, some keepers have played more games. Even so, his goals-against average (GAA) is a sensational 1.84 (fifth). He already has two shutouts, putting him in a four-way tie for second place.

The numbers are even more gobsmacking when observing hardcore data. Fowler is third best with 9.8 goals saved above expected. His 1.2 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes is fourth best, as is his 39.56 percent of expected goals saved above average. Honestly, the list of plaudits goes on.

Grade: A

Underwhelming Player: Chris Kreider

I wrote about Chris Kreider in a recent piece about how his leadership skills can be shown in ways other than on the scoresheet. In his defence, he netted a goal on Oct. 31 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but overall, it’s been difficult to discern his contributions.

Not everyone can come running and gunning out of the gate, and he is a 35-year-old veteran, but it would be nice to see him add some oomph to his game.

Grade: C

Canadiens Are Heading in the Right Direction

Things were looking shaky by the middle of October, but a brilliant four-game road trip steered the ship on the correct course. They then returned home to vanquish the Penguins on Halloween night, making it five victories on the bounce.

Truer judgment is reserved for when they play their nearest competitors in the Atlantic Division. They’ve defeated the Buffalo Sabres twice and the Detroit Red Wings once, but both are struggling. All their contests against the Bruins (first place), Ottawa Senators (third place) and Tampa Bay Lightning (fourth place) await. Lest they be overlooked, the Florida Panthers are fifth, but on a tear as of late.

Through one month, Montreal is a good hockey club, but there is room for them to reach greatness.

Final Grade: B

This article first appeared on The Hockey Writers and was syndicated with permission.

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