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Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been three weeks, but there won\u2019t be many more off days for the Canadiens before the end of the season arrives.<\/p>\n
First period<\/p>\n
Martin St-Louis clearly remembers how well Brendan Gallagher, Phillip Danault, and Josh Anderson played in Winnipeg in the previous game because they\u2019re out to start. And they spend their shift in the offensive zone.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the New York Islanders\u2019 fourth line that opens the scoring in the game, however, as an attempted pass from Danault in his own zone goes right to the stick of Matthew Schaefer. Marc Gatcomb collects the rebound and swings it wide around Samuel Montembeault\u2019s pad to tuck it in. However, Montreal is quick with an offside challenge, and video review shows that the Isles were indeed offside, so the goal comes off the board.<\/p>\n
It looks like most of the players on these teams haven\u2019t played in nearly a month.<\/p>\n
I little fake to get below the goal line opens a lane to the side of the net for a pass, and Alex Newhook gets his first scoring chance in his return to play.<\/p>\n
The fourth line has a long shift in the offensive zone, and Nick Suzuki\u2019s trio comes out for an even longer one on a change. In total it\u2019s about three minutes spent wearing down the Islanders in their own zone, but no goal comes of it.<\/p>\n
They have to wait for their next offensive-zone shift for that to happen. The Islanders race to the bench for a change and left the entire penalty-box side of the ice open. Four Habs players spread out and skate through it, and Hutson picks out Noah Dobson with the pass. Dobson scores, and Montreal has the official first goal of the night.<\/p>\n
Noah Dobson takes advantage of a bad change and scores on his former team<\/p>\n
1-0 Habs<\/p>\n
[image or embed]<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social<\/a>) February 26, 2026 at 8:36 PM<\/a><\/p>\n The goal is Dobson\u2019s 11th of the year, beating the 10 he had in full campaigns with the Islanders the previous two years. He\u2019s now three away from setting a new career high.<\/p>\n Montembeault makes a spectacular save on a shot deflected just a few feet in front of him, then recovers to make another one immediately afterward.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t a pretty period, but Montreal was the stronger team and did get a few good scoring chances with time in the offensive zone.<\/p>\n Second period<\/p>\n It\u2019s a stronger start for the Islanders in the second period, with several quick shots to start it off.<\/p>\n The best chance so far goes to Alex Newhook, but he misses the net on a breakaway.<\/p>\n Caufield gets the puck in the net \u2026 with his feet. He kicked it from behind the goal line off the foot of Sorokin and in, but you can\u2019t provide the force than sends the puck in the net, so that won\u2019t count, even if it wasn\u2019t actually going toward the net.<\/p>\n We won\u2019t be seeing this game as part of any classic series.<\/p>\n Montreal\u2019s fourth line goes back to work and draws a call in the offensive zone. Josh Anderson gets hooked as he tries to relay a dribbling shot from the point toward the net.<\/p>\n The Islanders are playing keepaway. It\u2019s fair to say the power play isn\u2019t sharp either.<\/p>\n Make that two goals from a new career high from Dobson. He salvages the power play with a blast from three feet inside the goal line.<\/p>\n It’s a Double Dob<\/p>\n 2-0 Habs!<\/p>\n [image or embed]<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social<\/a>) February 26, 2026 at 9:29 PM<\/a><\/p>\n Despite the two-goal lead, the Habs are still playing the puck in the offensive zone. The Islanders are having trouble slowing them down in the neutral zone.<\/p>\n Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd whacks the stick of Tony DeAngelo as both players try to get the puck on the boards. DeAngelo\u2019s stick falls from his hand, and Slafkovsk\u00fd is going off for \u201cinterference.\u201d<\/p>\n Matheson gets his stick up on on the ensuing faceoff, so the Canadiens are facing 1:52 of five-on-three time.<\/p>\n Matthew Schaefer scores, his 17th of the season, and it\u2019s 2-1.<\/p>\n And his 18th makes it 2-2 53 seconds later.<\/p>\n Montreal was playing a perfectly good second period until the call on Slafkovsk\u00fd, but the game has been reset on two quick goals against.<\/p>\n Third period<\/p>\n Simon Holmstrom trips Noah Dobson as he\u2019s backtracking to gain some separation. Montreal gets a chance to get the lead back on the power play.<\/p>\n They aren\u2019t playing like this could be their only opportunity with an extra man to take back control of the game.<\/p>\n The Habs are back in control of the possession at five-on-five, however. Each line is getting the puck in the offensive zone.<\/p>\n The best New York can do to try to get it back is hack and hook at the puck-carrier, and they will get a penalty for doing that to Kaiden Guhle as the stick gets in his feet.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s see some more urgency on this power play with just over 12 minutes to go.<\/p>\n Slafkovsk\u00fd looked to be the latest Canadiens player to have a prime scoring chance thwarted by a broken stick, but the puck ends up bouncing off the toe of Ivan Demidov at the side of the net, and Cole Caufield taps it in from his station at the opposite post. A rare fortuitous bounce for the Canadiens.<\/p>\n That’s a greasy one on the power play for Cole Caufield, but they’ll take it. <\/p>\n
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