Oct 23, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defensemen Noah Dobson (53) knocks a puck away from Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) during the first period at Rogers Place. | Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
First period
High energy from both teams to start the game.
“Let’s Go Oilers! Go Habs Go!” rings out in the crowsd, and I think Montreal’s chant is louder.
A nice chance from the fourth line of Zachary Bolduc, Kirby Dach, and Joe Veleno.
Then one for the top line.
As expected, there’s much more space for Montreal to work in than there was last night.
Edmonton responds with a long top-line shift in the offensive zone.
Kirby Dach has come to play tonight. Maybe he’s had enough of tiptoeing around injury worries.
It’s the Kapanen lines that gets on the board first as Alex Newhook bats in a Lane Hutson rebound.
Alex Newhook makes it 1-0 #Habs, and Evan Bouchard throws a tantrum over it, so it’s also a Habs power play now.
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) October 23, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Montreal goes immediately to the power play because Evans Bouchard chopped at the back of Newhook’s leg after he scored.
A few chances on the power play, but they had looked more dangerous at five-on-five.
The out-of-town results are coming up Montreal tonight. Again it’s early, but it’s never too early to build a cushion in the division.
The top line is having some fun, but also getting pucks on net, which is the important bit.
Edmonton gets its third shot of the period with under four minutes to play, and it deflects across to the skate of Newhook and goes in. Montreal has seen a few of those this season.
Montreal has three great chances off the next faceoff, but Pickard fumbles his way to a couple of saves.
A good period from Montreal, and one bad break from being a perfect one.
Second period
Caufield flies down the ice to get to a loose puck and starts off the second with a quality chance on Pickard.
It’s all Montreal in this period. No hesitation with the long change like we saw the last couple of games.
The linesman is very quick to call an icing. Bolduc actually touched the puck before it crossed the goal line. The faceoff rightfully goes to centre ice. Those are tough ones because the whole point of the rule is to protect players from sprinting into the end-boards. I think the solution is to just wave off any icing with a close race to the puck. Protect the players and keep the game flowing.
Alexandre Carrier is going off for cross-checking. He shoved Isaac Howard right at the top of the pants and sent him off-balance.
Josh Anderson blocks a point shot and races away for what he expects to be a breakaway, but Connor McDavid races back and pilfers the puck out his back pocket.
Dach is still struggling with is telegraphed passes. It’s oo easy to pick him off.
A long shot from the point gets tipped by Adam Henrique and past Montembeault. The Oilers maintained a bit of pressure after the power play and capitalized.
It is Henrique’s 1000th game, so I guess we’ll let him have that one.
Montembeault sees one shot go past the far post, and doesn’t stay involved with the play to see the puck come back out from behind the net to the slot. Andrew Mangiapane makes it 3-1.
Jake Evans tries to get that one right back, but hits the post.
Montembeault makes a save as the defence allowed a breakaway to Jack Roslovic.
Some good work from Brendan Gallagher to lunge at pucks in the offensive zone and prevent a breakout leads to a pass from Evans off of Gallagher to Anderson to make it a 3-2 game.
Just quality bottom six hockey here. Hard on pucks. Evans gets it to Gallagher, one touch for Anderson, and he pots it.
#Habs get one back, still down 3-2.
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) October 23, 2025 at 11:39 PM
And the game is tied after an excellent diagonal pass from Dobson and incredible deke from Caufield. They are awake now.
THE ABSOLUTE MITTS ON COLE CAUFIELD FOLKS.
3-3 #GOHABSGO
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) October 23, 2025 at 11:41 PM
How about another Caufield snipe? Three goals in the span of 112 seconds have Montreal leading this game 4-3.
COLE CAUFIELD. AGAIN.
#Habs erase a two goal deficit and take the lead back in less than six minutes.
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) October 23, 2025 at 11:42 PM
The referee recognizes the major shift in momentum in this game by calling a penalty on Montreal in the final seconds of the period.
Montreal kills off a few seconds, and will have 1:25 left to go in the third.
Third period
Montreal kills off the rest of the penalty without much from the Oilers.
The lead grows to two thanks to great backhand flick pass from Oliver Kapanen to Newhook, who scores his second goal from close range.
Beautiful feed from Oliver Kapanen to Alex Newhook in the slot, and it’s 5-3 #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) October 24, 2025 at 12:09 AM
And the ref decides Montreal needs to spend another two minutes in the box because Juraj Slafkovský knocked his man down on the forecheck. The call is boarding. He really has the pulse of this game.
Evans nearly wraps the puck in a short-handed excursion.
Mike Matheson crunches McDavid into the boards, and that draws a loud cheer from the many Habs fans in attendance.
A little more urgency from the Oilers that time, but Montreal survives it too. What will the ref come up with for the next call?
Suzuki gets one shot off a turnover and a massive rebound off Pickard gives him another.
Slafkovský makes a quick move to get the puck to his backhand and finds Hutson in the slot, but Pickard makes a save. Montreal is keeping the pressure on.
I think the fourth line would have been content to kill of the final 12 minutes with the puck pinned deep in Edmonton’s zone.
Carrier dives to keep the puck from getting to McDavid.
McDavid goes down. Matheson to the box. Four consecutive penalties against the team that has four consecutive goals. They can’t say they aren’t getting their chances.
And there’s the goal seven players on the ice have been looking for. Draisaitl makes it 5-4.
Anderson gets sent off right after the goal, probably for exposing the ref’s clear bias for the home team in this game.
And the game is tied. The ref will earn his bonus!
Unsurprisingly, the Oilers have earned some momentum from that offensive success.
Edmonton now has the lead on a backhand from the top of the crease from Vasily Podkolzin.
The Oilers win 6-5, and Martin St-Louis better have something to say about that post-game.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) Not much to complain about from their side tonight
2) He’s still in his prime
1) What other explanation could there be?
