Habs FINALLY Solve The Sabres! And Take Over 3rd In The Atlantic! | PuckTalk Post Game
Welcome to PuckTalk MTL LIVE, your destination for live Montreal Canadiens talk, NHL analysis, and real-time fan discussion.
The Montreal Canadiens have FINALLY solved the Buffalo Sabres! After struggling against their division rivals for the past three weeks, the Habs secured a massive victory at the KeyBank Center to claim 3rd place in the Atlantic division.
In this post-game breakdown, Coach K analyzes exactly how the team exorcised their demons and adjusted their strategy to shut down Buffalo’s pressure.
We dive deep into the standout performance from Jakub Dobes, who looked dominant between the pipes, and the offensive spark provided by Cole Caufield. This wasn’t just another game; it was a statement win for the NHL 2025-26 season.
We discuss the key coaching adjustments, the “Real Talk” on the defensive improvements, and what this critical climb in the standings means for Montreal’s playoff push. If you want honest Habs analysis and unfiltered opinions, this is the recap you need. Watch now to see how the Habs vs Sabres narrative has officially shifted!
0:00 – Show Start
0:51 – Game Highlights – Caufield & Dobes Lead The Way!
4:59 – Coach K’s Game Report – Why Only 7:09 for Xhekaj…AGAIN?
10:58 – Has Dobes Claimed The #1 Goalie Spot?
15:07 – Dach’s Role On The 1st Line Is CRITICAL To Their Success
20:24 – Not Jake Evans Best Night Defensively
#GoHabsGo #MontrealCanadiens #Habs #JakubDobes #ColeCaufield #NHL #Hockey #PuckTalkMTL #AtlanticDivision #Sabres
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.
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23 Comments
15:20 Dach is actually the biggest guy funny enough. He’s 6’4 221 pounds which is a pretty big reason why he’s so good at shielding the puck similar to Slaf. I like him on the 1st line for that reason.
Hey coach, very good point today, especially about Xhekaj. I’m really sad seeing how little time he’s been given considering he’s the most physical guy on the team who stopped making mistakes and his game visibly improved.
After the second period they were a very few people thinking we might be able to turn it around knowing how strong has been Buffalo playing recently. And here we go- 2 from “ Goal Clutchfield” and finally one for Kapanen and surprise was done. I still believe we deserved the win tonight as we played better 2 out of 3 periods and wanted it more than Sabres. I’m super excited about what the team produced today!!! GHG
Despite Dobes heroics, the Montreal D got manhandled all night. Both Buffalo goals were defensive giveaways, and that is not counting the numerous high danger chances and a couple of goalposts. Without Dobes standing on his head, another L to a larger, more physical team. Great that they won, but in a best of seven, Buffalo takes it in 5 or 6.
Enough of this man-on-man BS the Habs are too small to execute it properly, they need to go to a zone D, like the rest of the league.
Another GWG for Clutch
MTL didn't solve the Sabres they solved themselves.
Every single game MTL looks bad it is because they do the same things over and over that are bad decisions.Like over passing or as I mentioned a few days ago going too much to Caufield not giving anyone else a shot at the net.Suzuki's great pass to SlaF when usually that is another 5+ passes trying too hard to set up Caufield.MTL still has many shifts were they still make poor decisions but when they look better they at least have some good shifts where they make great decisions.
Where I get frustrated is thinking WHY do they have all these shifts where it is like mind boggling how they play.Well it tells me their hockey IQ is just NOT there they manage to come up with some great decisions like Suzuki's pass to Slaf …sometimes but most often it is over passing or no look passes that are just turnovers.D holding the line and yeah those small wimpy forwards NEED help from the D but often the D is already backing out even when they have no risk to stay in tight.
Let's see what happens at the trade deadline. We don't know what players other teams are calling Montreal about.
This is the hard part…what players to keep, going forward, and who is coming up. I'm sure HUGO may have a wish list of a couple of players but organically, players may fill those positions. No rush moves are required.
Hello Mr. Coach Talk…I had a good week with hockey watching Habs and Rocket win. 🙂 What I saw this week with the Habs that I think is promising:
(1) Habs played well vs. good teams by playing "60 mins of good hockey" which is something that we haven't gotten all year. We even had a game where we didn't have to worry late in the third period!
(2) they were able to adjust to counter the strengths of the other teams.
(3) Doby is trending positively right now and, along with the old standby Suzuki, I think he doing his part so the ship sails straight ahead. I am usually not a fan of goalies as much as skaters (because I love brilliant moves/passes that confuse the defense), but I really enjoy Doby and Fowler!
(4) Demidov is playing with greater confidence to try moving the puck into the middle and shoot (but he has to stop using those prank sticks that explode).
I love watching this team develop and learn. It creates the satisfaction I feel in the last couple seasons. Sure it is nice to get the Cup, but I think if we just let this thing cook we will be there in two years (2027-2028). I want to see them figure it out, little by little. This is fun!
Olympics (you invited a rant)– My patience with the current mainstream (Trump) US politics and (pro-big business) values and (arrogant, mean-spirited) demeanor is thin, and it makes me embarrassed to be lumped into that group (by those outsiders who are thoughtless just like Trump), supported 100% by people like the Tkachuks. I HATED that four-nations thing last year because of all the politics. I also do not like my NHL season to be affected by yet another money-grabbing venture, and I think the US should have been banned from the Olympics like Russia was when they invaded Afghanistan in the 1980s. It is not the same as the "Miracle" 1980 Olympics, which was the most exciting thing that transformed me into a full-on hockey fan while I was still in elementary school. I want to see the people we don't know yet play…Like I said, I hope I see a lot of vid about what Hutson and Demidov are doing over this break. I'd even love to see what they eat for breakfast, and when they eat it (before or after skating). I just love everything about those two, and I hope they never grow beards because they are adorable! 😀
Have a good day!
Hey something I forgot…Did anyone notice that little camera shot of Dobes in the third period, visualizing something and positioning his body to make his play? It is a sign to me that he is incredibly focused. I used to do this when I played soccer during my alone-time practice: look at something like a leaf on the ground and pretend it was a defender I had to get around. I've seen other athletes do things like this for whatever sport they play and I really like to see it. It tells me that they have care and curiosity.
thought bolduc looked a lot better with dach than veleno. hope texier isnt out too long
the penalty on dach was a joke especially right after suzuki gets kaid out at the blue line where the puck is no where to be found
There's been enough defensemen glitches to go around. Robidas may not be the "guy." Ala Raymond. Na, na, na, na,,,,,, na,na,na.
Xhekaj and Engstrom would be a very good third pair with the correct tutelage.
the second period its that theory you said the bench is more far away so more skating to do when you have to go to the bench for line changes
Dobes in Laval ASAP.
Montembeault #1, Matheson #2
I shudder to think Arber wearing a B's or Leafs or even Caps jersey. Imagine a team that would allow a fully unleashed Xhekaj. Id prefer to see him stay and have a coach/advisor like Robinson guide him to stay in MTL.
Guhle is looking good by the game. He is going to be the D man that helps the Habs keep 1 less goal a game against! That is huge in the terms of hockey! Dobes looks like he's ready to take a big step forward with the new goalie coach. Maybe not new for Dobes but you know what I mean. Dach a little better as well. Evans looked like he was chasing and out of postion on the PK. I'm really starting to think Evans was carried a lot by Armia personally. I think we need a PK guy moving forward coach. This might sound dumb and we been down this road before but Armia might be a good 4th line pick up. For the PK as well. What you think.
I think it would be best to have a hybrid of your amateur/NHL participant scenario for the Olympics. The U20 format like the world juniors makes more sense. You still get “best on best”, but it doesn’t compress the NHL schedule. A true World Cup of Hockey could be held every 4 years that was NHL level “best on best” should be adopted with an altered NHL schedule to accommodate it. September start and a MINOR compression of the schedule. This year’s multiple back to backs is ridiculous and dangerous in my opinion.
Hey coach great analysis ! I’m curious of your opinion on the usage of xhekaj you spoke on it but I wanted your opinion on how I see it. I believe xhekaj can be a useful 3rd pairing dmen in this league right now he looks more like a 6-7 dmen and he plays like you said not much but if we look at the bigger picture and we look at our top 4 d core I don’t see any of these guys not being able to handle 25 minutes a night without losing focus in the game so why would we take those great minutes from our best defensemen and give them to a 6-7 dmen that as his ups and down and as and can have some pretty bad brain fart on the ice. For sure through a an 82 games scheduled I would like xhekaj to be able to handle more minutes to give a break to our top guys not on 5 on 5 necessarily but on the pk. But then again he’s a 6-7 dman I don’t wanna downplay his worth but developing a defenseman like this and accepting some major mistake that could result in loss games for us is a price too big for me compared to what at his best he can give us. I’m just trying to see a different opinion from mine here and I wanna gage how far I can be from the truth here ! Thanks again for the video and I wish you all the best coach
Great video and it might be an idea to discuss the anatomy of blocked shots. The Habs seem to excel at it and in this game especially.
Olympics: glad you brought that up…amateurs should only be allowed to play and keep the Pro’s out of it. I bet Owners and Managers secretly worry about their star players getting injured , thus screwing the Team’s chances to advance to the SC Playoffs or to even make the Playoffs for that matter. I’m 65 and that is what it was historically…amateurs please as they need development and their own pinnacle to aspire to. Thank you for what you do and never once offended by your delivery 💪💪🇨🇦
As for the Olympics. Where the best players from all countries play professionally in so many leagues worldwide, it's tough to get back to that amateur only level. Soviet Union teams were always the big exception of a professional level team that was in theory "amateur" that was always favored while Canada's best was locked in the NHL. I think a bona fide world cup would be alot better like in soccer if given a chance minus young guns and rest of Europe teams. Great show 👍
can marty also tell robodough to stop playing that silly sit back triangle when someone pulls there goalie… coach i told you months ago our pk is more aggressive then our 5 on 6 .. it doesn’t make any god dam sense!!
lolololol im the youngest of five & understand totally
AX… you don’t understand why he’s not getting more ice time. Others don’t understand why so many people think he’s SO good and useful (other than for fighting)