Welcome back to PuckTalk MTL for a full Montreal Canadiens post-game breakdown after an intense, physical New Year slugfest win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
In this post-game show, Kosta recaps how the Habs opened the new year with authority, battling through hits, scrums, momentum swings, and high emotion to earn a statement victory against one of the NHL’s toughest teams.
He breaks down the key moments that defined this Canadiens vs Hurricanes matchup, including standout performances, hard-nosed defensive play, clutch scoring, and the goaltending that held up under relentless pressure. From board battles and forecheck intensity to discipline, this game had everything NHL fans love about old-school, high-stakes hockey.
For Montreal Canadiens fans, Coach K analyzes what this win says about the team’s identity, resilience, and ability to compete.
Whether you’re a Habs fan, Canes fan, or a passionate hockey fan looking for honest post-game analysis, this video delivers insight beyond the final score.
If you’re searching for Canadiens post-game reactions, NHL analysis, or coverage of physical rivalry games, this is the episode for you.
🔥 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBE for daily Montreal Canadiens content, NHL post-game shows, and in-depth hockey talk on PuckTalk MTL!
0:00 – Show Start
1:03 – Game Highlights – Goal Galore To Start 2026!!!
7:46 – Coach K’s Game Report – Carrier Needs A Break
12:23 – Xhekaj Played The Way We Expected…PHYSICAL!!
13:35 – Juraj Slafkovsky Was The Habs MVP In December According To Coach
15:47 – Another 5 Point Game For Sebastan Aho?
#GoHabsGo #MontrealCanadiens #CarolinaHurricanes #NHL #Habs #Canes #HockeyFans #NHLPostGame #PuckTalkMTL #CH #HockeyVLog
In every episode, Kosta Papoulias takes a deep dive into the latest Montreal Canadiens news involving Ivan Demidov, Patrik Laine, Juraj Slafkovsky, Josh Anderson, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, Joe Veleno, Jake Evans, Zach Bolduc, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook, Oliver Kapanen, Habs Defencemen, Arber Xhekaj, Kaiden Guhle, Sam Montembeault, Lane Hutson, Jayden Struble, Alex Carrier, Mike Matheson, Noah Dobson, Jakub Dobes, Jacob Fowler, Kent Hughes, Martin St Louis.
Dans chaque épisode, Kosta Papoulias analyse en profondeur les dernières nouvelles des Canadiens de Montréal concernant Ivan Demidov, Patrik Laine, Juraj Slafkovsky, Josh Anderson, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, Joe Veleno, Jake Evans, Zach Bolduc, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook, Oliver Kapanen, Habs Defencemen, Arber Xhekaj, Kaiden Guhle, Sam Montembeault, Lane Hutson, Jayden Struble, Alex Carrier, Mike Matheson, Noah Dobson, Jakub Dobes, Jacob Fowler, Kent Hughes et Martin St Louis.
Please Click to Subscribe / Veuillez cliquer pour vous abonner: https://bit.ly/mtlhockeytalk
20 Comments
I wish you would go live for post game and we can interact in the chat.. I prefer listening to you over the other Habs podcasts, but most of them have live interactive post game shows.
How about the Habs leading the league in goals for… 1st time since 1976 !!!
Taxier on the first line instead of bulduc paid off. Slaf in the 3rd period crazy. Depth in the bottom six! . Turning point for the 4th line hopefully
5/6 points of the last 3. Hard fought games . Is a good sign
Kudos to the Habs for a gutsy win, 5 out of 6 points on the current trip, Hutson picked up another 2 and is only 5 behind Makar; Demidov, also another 2, leads rookies by 5, crazy!!
But….
The team defense still sucks, Canadiens as are only +1 (Tampa are +28), too may giveaways, too many blind passes, too reliant on the big save. If they want to make some noise in the playoffs, they need to substantially improve, they desperately need Guhle back to take the load off Carrier.
Nick Suzuki was damn near perfect except for the dot.
Happy New year Coach! Thx for the quality material sir! Looking forward to another year of top tier analysis.
The come back kids are back lol
Gotta find ways to win. Yes. But obviously id like for the team to have some games where we take the lead and keep the lead. Solid road trip tho no complains as far as points!
I just got educated!
This show is growing on me!!
100% with you on Carrier. He's been awful this year.
Not really sure Hutson can tie up many players in the NHL. He is to small. Some kind of hybrid coverage is going to have to be worked out.
Where was Danault? Why one V one when 5 points against?
Carrier is the only player that never gets reprimanded. If Struble or Xhekaj had the year he has they would be traded/waived. Getting him last year was a complete waste of cap space and purely political.
Another thing I noticed is it seems like certain numbers/stats are getting skewed. Again today Struble one hit in the first and second, then in the third around 11:00–5:00 minute mark he had three solid hits which they didn’t mark. If there doing this it’s absolutely insane.
Carrier can't be making mistakes. That's his thing, solid dman. It's why he got paid. He's not a hitter or producer. If he's making errors, turnovers, not in right spot, whatever….it's really bad. I hope he gets his game back.
Unfortunately, carrier seems like the habs biggest liability most of the time.
Otherwise, a good game. Lots to takeaway to improve and lots to be proud of from just about everyone on the team
The MO of this team is kryptonite to any goaltender involved imho. The speed this young team is able to execute at allows for these topsy turvy type games. The momentum shifts also do a number on both teams goaltenders and D corp, so Montreal will need a goalie who can stand on their head to survive a playoff stint, and a D corp that can keep the dangerous plays outside of the box.
Coach, every fan prefers 7-5 over 1-0 in extra time😉 with the talent, instead of grafting, we should be able to open the goals bags more often. If anything, that allows it to cover for sometimes erratic goaltending. On this subject…please point in one of upcoming videos when the heck will management decide on 2 out of 3 goaltenders, instead of one sitting senselessly on the stands.
Hey Kosta, happy new year. And … What a game. This Habs team seems to me getting very strong mentally with “ no- give up attitude “ which is very enjoyable to watch Slaf, Lane, Cole and especially Suz did really good. The second line has been a blast to watch recently !!!! GHG
Habs fan from Gatineau QC, living in Toronto and new to your channel and I will consider joining soon.
Great job. I enjoyed your recap and observations. Yes, I see the missed assignments of Carrier you're pointing out but I wouldn't write him off just yet. Feeling in for Ghule and Matheson is no small task and perhaps expose Carrier in a role not best suited for him?
I'm not overly concerned for Carrier plays for now with blue liners returning to the line up soon to bring the balance again. On the long run, Reinbacher should be on the second pair D eventually.
Yes to live show, nice way to exchange post game.
Engstrom was solid and should be given Carrier time
Coach I agree with you, we have to sit Carrier.
Actually we should sit Gally too but the difference is that Gally has almost played 15 years in MTL and his role is not as important has a defenseman, so Carrier is more disposable. Gally should finish has a starter this year.
But we can't afford to have a defenseman to be as not as reliable as Carrier has been since 25-26 season started.
Then Without Carrier (and Matheson who is out), our defense squad looks ludacrously young lol.
KH have to move to get exp on the right side of the defense… Or we will get eat in playoffs…
Can't rely on Guhle to be a 4th defenseman, he's never there. (Though he is terrific when healthy)