{"id":590627,"date":"2026-04-08T17:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T17:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/590627\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T17:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T17:02:09","slug":"canadiens-steal-two-points-with-late-game-heroics-we-werent-very-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/590627\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadiens steal two points with late-game heroics: ‘We weren’t very good’"},"content":{"rendered":"

MONTREAL \u2014 Lane Hutson<\/a> took a pass at centre ice and saw an opening.<\/p>\n

The shifty Montreal Canadiens<\/a> defenceman burst past the Florida Panthers<\/a>\u2019 defence, dragged goaltender Daniil Tarasov<\/a> out of his crease and set up Nick Suzuki<\/a> for the \u201ceasiest goal\u201d of his career, tying the game with 21 seconds left in an eventual 4-3 shootout win Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome late-game heroics,\u201d Suzuki said. \u201cHell of a play there to take it by himself and create something late.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the type of play Hutson has made routinely since arriving in Montreal, including a similar dramatic connection with Suzuki against the Panthers last April.<\/p>\n

It also masked a lacklustre effort, by their own admission, from the playoff-bound Canadiens. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t very good,\u201d Suzuki said bluntly. \u201cTo win that is big for the standings, but we know we\u2019ve got to be a lot better the last few games of the regular season.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started with my line. I was pretty brutal all night,\u201d he added. \u201cA bit too casual. I thought we were kind of soft as a group.\u201d<\/p>\n

The usually dominant top line of Suzuki, Cole Caufield<\/a> and Juraj Slafkovsky struggled to generate momentum early, with the Canadiens managing just one shot in the game\u2019s first 15 minutes against a depleted Panthers side missing half its regular lineup.<\/p>\n

The second period featured a parade of icings from Montreal, coming off a disappointing 3-0 defeat to the New Jersey Devils<\/a> on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last two games we\u2019ve been flat,\u201d coach Martin St. Louis<\/a> said. \u201cWe found a way to win tonight and stay in the race, and maybe it will help us get out of this flat sequence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel we have a group that when they put their mind to it, and they decide let\u2019s go, I feel like we can get it done with the talent that we have,\u201d he added. \u201cI don\u2019t know if we deserve the two points, but maybe it makes up for some of the games that you play well and you get nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caufield and Alexandre Texier<\/a> scored in the shootout while Jakub Dobes<\/a> stopped both attempts to secure the win.<\/p>\n

The Canadiens (46-22-10) tied Tampa Bay and Buffalo atop the Atlantic Division at 102 points with four games remaining on the regular-season calendar, starting with an anticipated visit from the Lightning on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Caufield\u2019s pursuit of his 50th goal \u2014 something no Canadien has done in 36 years \u2014 continues to loom large. Teammates keep looking for the sharpshooter, who remained stuck on 49 for a third straight game, while fans rise in anticipation each time he hops over the boards.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Montreal, it\u2019s the market,\u201d said veteran centre Phillip Danault<\/a>, who scored for the first time in 15 games. \u201cIf I was on his line, I would do the same thing. I would look for him every time \u2026 Just simplify things, and the puck will find him like it has all season.”<\/p>\n

St. Louis, a former league MVP, could relate to Caufield and his linemates gripping sticks a little tight with the milestone so close.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand what he\u2019s going through, and you can talk about it however you want, but it\u2019s hard not to be absorbed by it,\u201d St. Louis said. \u201cIt\u2019s normal. It\u2019s to try as best as you can to not think about it, but it\u2019s difficult as a player.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the top line out of sync for much of the night, Ivan Demidov<\/a> stepped up with a power-play goal and helped drive Montreal\u2019s offence.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old Russian winger \u2014 who arrived in Montreal to a hero\u2019s welcome last year \u2014 leads all rookies with 61 points (18 goals, 43 assists) in 78 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cPure skill, electric,\u201d Danault said. \u201cHe\u2019s going to be among the (Nikita) Kucherovs and more. He\u2019s going be a really special player, he already is.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis confidence, his strength, his dedication, his intelligence on the ice. He\u2019s an exceptional player. It won\u2019t be long until it\u2019s considered an honour to play with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2026.<\/p>\n

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MONTREAL \u2014 Lane Hutson took a pass at centre ice and saw an opening. The shifty Montreal Canadiens…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590628,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-590627","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}