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Surging Canadiens Cap Off Successful Road Trip

The Montreal Canadiens are sniffing a playoff spot after posting four wins in a six-game road trip.

Nick Horwat

Jan 4, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield (13) celebrates his game tying goal in the third period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Jan 4, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield (13) celebrates his game tying goal in the third period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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The Montreal Canadiens have played a ton of hockey on the road as of late, capping off a six-game road trip against the Colorado Avalanche. To add on the six straight games away from Montreal, the Canadiens are in the midst of a 15-game stretch where they have just four contests on home ice.

Despite next to no home cooking, the Canadiens are impressing an have flipped the switch on their season. With a shootout win over the Avalanche, the Canadiens are finishing their road trip with four wins, taking eight out of a possible 12 standings points.

With four wins on the road trip and riding a 7-2-0 run, the Canadiens have turned into one of the hottest teams in the NHL. In the matter of just a few weeks, they turned themselves from the bottom team in the Eastern Conference to a true playoff contender.

Of course, they’ll have to keep up the good work to stick in the playoff race, but they’re currently one point shy of a wild card spot.

With an 18-18-3 record with 39 standings points in 39 games played, the Canadiens are sitting at an even .500. Goaltending has played a huge role in the turnaround, and so too has the emergence of Patrik Laine.

Since Laine debuted with the Canadiens, he has picked up eight goals and a pair of assists for 10 total points. He’s gone the last four games without a goal, but Montreal is 9-4-0 with him in the lineup.

Goalies Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes have also been impressive over this run, especially the rookie from Czechia. Dobes has played in just two games, but shutout the reigning Stanley Cup champions in his debut, then recently held off the Avalanche in a shootout.

It’s tough to say if Dobes seems ready for a full-time spot at the NHL level, but he continues to earn more looks.

The Canadiens still have a lot of hockey left to play before they can consider themselves playoff contenders this season, but they sure have put themselves in good position to surprise many as the year goes on.

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Nick Horwat
NICK HORWAT

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