\u2014 x \u2013 Canadiens Montr\u00e9al (@CanadiensMTL) April 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n I asked Xhekaj what\u2019s the coolest part about being a Canadien<\/a> \u2014 apart from playing the games?<\/p>\n \u201cApart from playing? I mean, everything,\u201d he said. \u201cThe way people see you in the city, it\u2019s pretty special. It\u2019s the biggest hockey market in the whole world and it\u2019s an amazing place to play. I don\u2019t know, there\u2019s so many good things that go with it, it\u2019s hard to describe.<\/p>\n \u201cYou feel the buzz in the city,\u201d he added about being in the playoffs. \u201cYou see all the jerseys at the grocery store and when you\u2019re walking around. The city\u2019s buzzing right now and you can feel it.\u201d <\/p>\n What a night!<\/p>\n Fans in the Bell Centre and outside at a viewing party went into a frenzy Friday night after Lane Hutson scored in overtime to give the Canadiens a 3-2 win over the Lightning in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead.<\/p>\n Game 4 is Sunday at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports).<\/p>\n Before the game, the Canadiens had former captain Yvan Cournoyer \u2014 a winner of 10 Stanley Cups \u2014 carry the famous torch into the Bell Centre. <\/p>\n It was wonderful to see the 82-year-old Cournoyer and the smile on his face since the Canadiens legends won\u2019t live forever and they should be cherished while they\u2019re still around.<\/p>\n \u201cI kind of caught the end of it on the TV in the tunnel,\u201d current captain Nick Suzuki said when asked about Cournoyer after the game. \u201cHe\u2019s such an amazing guy. I got to golf with him at one of the Canadiens\u2019 golf tournaments and just chat with him. I love that he sticks around and comes supports us almost every night at home, it feels like. He\u2019s such a legend and it was pretty cool to see him walk out there. It looked like he was having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n During the third intermission, Hutson told his teammates he felt like he was going to score in OT.<\/p>\n \u201cI kind of just said jokingly: \u2018I think I got it,’\u201d Hutson said after the game. \u201cLuckily it went in and just happy that we got the big win.<\/p>\n \u201cThat honestly might have been my first slapshot all year,\u201d he added. \u201cI saw some space, lots of bodies, and just tried to shoot it as hard as I could and luckily it went in.\u201d<\/p>\n Hutson\u2019s shot was considered to be one of the only weaknesses in his game last season when he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL\u2019s top rookie with 6-60-66 totals. But the 5-foot-9, 162-pound defenceman worked on his shot all summer and had 12-66-78 totals this season.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely something I\u2019ve been working on since I turned pro,\u201d Hutson said. \u201cIt\u2019s still lots of work to be done, for sure. But I feel like every day it gets a little bit better. It\u2019s good by me.\u201d<\/p>\n Hutson\u2019s game-winning blast didn\u2019t surprise Xhekaj.<\/p>\n \u201cI told him this year he\u2019s firing it way harder in practice,\u201d Xhekaj said. \u201cI\u2019ve noticed that. He probably shot 3 million pucks in the summer. He\u2019s ripping it pretty good and that\u2019s an unbelievable shot.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed.<\/p>\n Playoff fever<\/p>\n There really is nothing like playoff fever in Montreal.<\/p>\n Martin St. Louis grew up as a Canadiens fan in Laval and for the second straight season the Hall of Fame player \u2014 who won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004 \u2014 is in the playoffs as head coach of the Canadiens.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, it\u2019s an unbelievable experience,\u201d he said after Friday\u2019s morning skate. \u201cI was happy with it last year, just to be part of it. To be behind this group is unbelievable. <\/p>\n \u201cI walk in this morning, get a coffee and there\u2019s, I don\u2019t know, 20, 30 porta-potties outside,\u201d St. Louis added about the setup for the Game 3 viewing party near the Bell Centre. \u201cThis place is amazing. It\u2019s just the magnitude of this market and being front and centre, being part of it. It\u2019s not something I take for granted. I\u2019m trying to earn that every day, but there\u2019s nothing like being behind the bench of the Montreal Canadiens. You magnify that with the playoffs and it\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n How does he control that playoff fever as head coach?<\/p>\n \u201cYou got to see things clearly through the chaos,\u201d St. Louis said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be chaotic out there tonight. I\u2019m sure not just on the ice, in the building. Just like as a player, you got to be able to make the reads and see things clearly. Don\u2019t let the emotion, the noise, cloud your reads.\u201d<\/p>\n He writes, he scores!<\/p>\n The Players\u2019 Tribune published a fantastic first-person story by Cole Caufield on Thursday<\/a> about his journey from a young boy growing up in Wisconsin with dreams of one day playing in the NHL to a 51-goal scorer this season with the Canadiens.<\/p>\n The headline was \u201cCan Someone Get My Old Man a Canadiens Hat?\u201d after his father, Paul, was shown on video in tears while wearing a Milwaukee Brewers cap at the Bell Centre after his son scored his 50th goal this season.<\/p>\n \u201cI think most people have probably seen the clip of my dad crying in the stands,\u201d Caufield says in the Players\u2019 Tribune article. \u201cMe and my brother were cracking up, because of course he\u2019s wearing a\u00a0Brewers\u00a0cap. The guy\u2019s son plays for the Habs and he\u2019s weeping on camera in the quarter-zip and the Brew Crew hat. I guess he had Opening Day fever.\u00a0Classic.\u00a0(Security, don\u2019t let him in the building tomorrow without a Habs hat on.)\u201d<\/p>\n In the article, Caufield talks about all the hours spent in the family van with his father, mother, brother and other teammates driving from Wisconsin to tournaments in Chicago or Minnesota or Detroit with the movie Kicking & Screaming<\/a> \u2014 starring Will Ferrell, Mike Ditka and Robert Duvall \u2014 usually playing in the back on a flip-down DVD player.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n After Friday\u2019s morning skate, I asked Caufield if he was planning to become a sportswriter.<\/p>\n \u201cI never had those writing skills,\u201d he said with a chuckle.<\/p>\n The ghost-writer who worked with Caufield did a wonderful job.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, it was kind of their storyline,\u201d Caufield said. \u201cThey wanted the timing (of publishing it) to work out like that (before Game 3 at the Bell Centre). I think it\u2019s pretty cool. Obviously, there\u2019s enough buzz around the city regardless of that, but definitely tried to get (the fans) fired up.\u201d<\/p>\n Caufield said the feedback he has received from the story has been \u201cpretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of old friends or family members have sent me (notes) to say they\u2019ve been pretty emotional about it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s good to kind of look back on those stories of how you got to where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n In the article, Caufield says he and his older brother, Brock, probably watched the movie Kicking & Screaming 1,000 times in the back of the van while driving to and from hockey tournaments.<\/p>\n I asked Caufield Friday morning when was the last time he watched the movie? <\/p>\n \u201cWell, I\u2019ve been trying to get Guhls (Kaiden Guhle) to watch it,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, he loves it, too. So we\u2019ll find a time on the road trip (to Tampa) next week.\u201d<\/p>\n Has he ever met Will Ferrell?<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Caufield said. \u201cI\u2019d love to.\u201d<\/p>\n Ferrell is a huge hockey fan and attends a lot of Los Angeles Kings games, so it would be pretty cool if that meeting could somehow be set up next season when the Canadiens are in L.A.<\/p>\n As for his father\u2019s Brewers cap, was Caufield able to get him a Canadiens cap for Game 3 so that security would let him in the Bell Centre?<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I have a couple floating around here,\u201d Caufield said with a chuckle.<\/p>\n Taking a punch<\/p>\n Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson once famously said: \u201cEverybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n The Canadiens\u2019 Juraj Slafkovsky can now relate to that after taking a punch to the face from Tampa\u2019s Brandon Hagel during a fight in Game 2 Tuesday night, which the Lightning won 3-2 in overtime in Tampa. Hagel dropped Slafkovsky with a right to the chin during the second-period fight, but Slafkovsky got right back up.<\/p>\n It was only Slafkovsky\u2019s fourth fight in the NHL, according to HockeyFights.com<\/a>, and it was the 17th for Hagel, who at 6-foot-2 and 186 pounds is one inch shorter and 39 pounds lighter than Slafkovsky. Hagel had a big upper hand \u2014 and right hand \u2014 in experience and probably knew that going into the fight.<\/p>\n Did Xhekaj, who has had 46 fights in the NHL according to HockeyFights.com, give Slafkovsky some tips after his fight with Hagel?<\/p>\n \u201cNo, not really,\u201d Xhekaj said. \u201cJust had a good laugh about it. He\u2019s a good sport. We loved to see it and we were happy he got in there and did his thing. For someone who doesn\u2019t fight a lot, I think he did well. We love what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n Xhekaj said learning how to fight in hockey isn\u2019t easy and the only way to get better is to actually drop the gloves.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can wrestle all you want in practice, but I think when you get punched in the face it feels a lot different in the moment,\u201d Xhekaj said. \u201cI honestly want to say that\u2019s probably the first time he\u2019s got hit in the face like that. He popped right back up like an animal and he was ready to keep going. The refs broke it up, but that\u2019s the main thing is getting hit in the face for the first time and seeing how you react to that.\u201d<\/p>\n Does Xhekaj remember his first hockey fight?<\/p>\n \u201cI was in a lot of fights as a kid with the cages on when we were trying to rip each others\u2019 helmets off,\u201d he said. \u201cMy first fight with a visor \u2014 I had a couple of fights in Junior B, too \u2014 but the first fight with a visor I remember getting hit in the face and it felt weird and I just wanted to go down to the ground right away and tackle the guy. But after a few (fights) you know just to take a deep breath and reset.\u201d<\/p>\n Before turning pro, Canadiens defenceman Jayden Struble played four years of NCAA hockey at Northeastern University, where players wear full-face cages and there isn\u2019t any real fighting.<\/p>\n Struble still remembers his first fight with the AHL\u2019s Laval Rocket three years ago against the Utica Comets\u2019 Joseph Gambardella after switching to a visor.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was awful,\u201d Struble, who has had seven NHL fights, said after practice Thursday in Brossard. \u201cI was kind of just swinging all over the place. My next one was fine and then you just kind of get the hang of it. One fight you\u2019ll just be there, like: \u2018OK, I\u2019m kind of chilling here and you see punches coming.\u2019 It gets a little different, but (Slafkovsky\u2019s) not going to have to fight a ton. But I feel like if he does go, he can get guys. He\u2019s just that strong. He\u2019s huge \u2026 he\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Hagel could have been a Hab<\/p>\n Speaking of Hagel, he attended the Canadiens\u2019 rookie camp in 2018 as an invited player, but was never offered a pro contract by former general manager Marc Bergevin.<\/p>\n Hagel was selected by Buffalo in the sixth round (159th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, but never signed with the Sabres and was then invited to the Canadiens\u2019 camp.<\/p>\n Shortly after the Canadiens\u2019 camp, the Chicago Blackhawks signed Hagel as a free agent ahead of the 2018-19 season after he had posted 41-61-102 totals and 80 penalty minutes the previous season with the WHL\u2019s Red Deer Rebels. Less than five months after signing Hagel, the Blackhawks traded him to Tampa, where he has developed into a star.<\/p>\n The 27-year-old Hagel has hit the 30-goal mark in three of the last four seasons and had 36-38-74 totals in 71 games this season. He was also part of Team Canada when it won the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament last year and again this year when Canada won a silver medal at the Milano-Cortina Olympics.<\/p>\n Jake Evans was also at the Canadiens\u2019 rookie camp in 2018 after completing his fourth and final season at the University of Notre Dame. The Canadiens selected Evans in the seventh round (207th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve said it many times to the guys here, we missed out on a really good player, which is crazy,\u201d Evans told The Athletic\u2019s Pierre LeBrun in a story he wrote this week about Hagel.<\/a> \u201cI do remember him being there. Obviously, he took huge steps after that.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve actually brought that up a few times,\u201d Evans added. \u201cEvery time we play them, I feel like I bring that up.\u201d<\/p>\n An unsung hero<\/p>\n An unsung hero in the Canadiens\u2019 successful rebuilding process is Adam Nicholas, the team\u2019s director of hockey development.<\/p>\n I always get a kick out of watching Nicholas working on the ice with players because of his booming voice and uplifting enthusiasm. Friday\u2019s optional morning skate at the Bell Centre was another example.<\/p>\n Everyone in life should be lucky enough to love their job as much as Nicholas loves his.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been awesome,\u201d Guhle said after the morning skate when I asked him about Nicholas. \u201cHe loves what he does. He loves hockey and he loves helping us out. Whenever we need something, he\u2019s always the first guy you call to talk about the game when you\u2019re going through a rough patch. He\u2019ll do what he can to help you get out of it. He\u2019s been really good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n When Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes was a guest recently on The Sick Podcast With Tony Marinaro<\/a> he spoke about what Nicholas has done since being hired four years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cJust so we can get it out in the open, Adam Nicholas is the Big Cat,\u201d Hughes told Marinaro. \u201cAnd he should never be referred to as anything else ever again in this city of Montreal. OK, the Big Cat. And the hockey players call him the Petit Chat.<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n \u201cIt all starts with Marty,\u201d Hughes then added about how St. Louis works so well with Nicholas. \u201cI suspect that with most hockey teams the player development guys are not on the ice in practice. They\u2019re not in on meetings. They\u2019re not fully integrated. Whereas Marty did that right away and I think that\u2019s been so critical to Adam being able to impact the organization. Because absent that, two different silos and one guy\u2019s working with a player in terms of what he thinks he should do better and that (can be) working in direct contrast to what the coaching staff is trying to do.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I would say the strongest way this has impacted our organization the most is Marty\u2019s approach to just: \u2018OK, get in on the meetings, become part of it\u2019 and then there\u2019s a lot of dialogue between them. Adam will understand what Marty\u2019s trying to do and the things that Marty wants of Cole (Caufield), for example. And then Adam\u2019s able to constantly reinforce.\u201d <\/p>\n Guhle said he has no idea how Nicholas got the Big Cat nickname.<\/p>\n \u201cHe probably made it up himself,\u201d Guhle said with a grin.<\/p>\n Do the players really call him the Petit Chat?<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we\u2019re giving it to him now we\u2019ll call him that,\u201d Guhle said.<\/p>\n![\"Canadiens](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0425-spt-slapshots-2026.jpg\")
Canadiens fans take in pre-game celebrations before Game 3 against the Lightning at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Friday, April 24. Evan Buhler \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n