Up until the third period of the Montreal Canadiens’ 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, star Connor McDavid had only unofficially impacted on the scoring. His giveaway to Habs forward Joe Veleno midway through the second period led to the (unassisted) game-winning goal as the home side came away with a decisive victory at the Bell Centre.
Game Recap
By the time McDavid got on the scoresheet for real, getting an assist on Zach Hyman’s third-period marker, it was too late. It was 3-1 with less than 10 minutes to play. And, just 1:23 after the goal, Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier responded, opting to shoot on Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard on a two-on-one rush that had materialized off a separate giveaway, this time off the stick of Trent Frederic.
Related: Projected Lineups for Oilers vs Canadiens – 12/14/25
The Oilers pulled Pickard, who got the start in place of the newly acquired Tristan Jarry, with over four minutes left, but the Canadiens stood tall, one night after giving up several significant leads in an overtime loss to the New York Rangers. The Oilers, who beat the Toronto Maple Leafs last night (with Jarry earning the win then), were also playing their second game in two nights, but the Habs seemed significantly more determined in this one.
Overall, it was right up there in terms of the most complete team performances this season for the Canadiens. They got scoring across the lineup. They played a tight defensive game, headlined by a successful full two-minute two-man kill in the first, during which they understandably bent but impressively did not break, backstopped by goalie Jakub Dobes, who, himself, played a very solid game with 27 saves.
Teammate Jacob Fowler may have earned the headlines recently, having gotten the last two starts, including his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins, which yielded an impressive victory. However, with the understanding the Canadiens probably shouldn’t rush Fowler to the NHL permanently, Dobes continues to make a claim on the starting job. And, if the Habs can continue to put together performances like this in front of him, there shouldn’t be any concern he can get the job done, as they proved they as a unit could stifle one of the league’s top offenses, Ivan Demidov and Nick Suzuki rounding out the scoring for their part.
The Canadiens improved to 17-11-4, within striking distance to the tune of a single point of top spot in the Atlantic Division, despite their recent struggles. They host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. The 15-12-6 Oilers visit the Penguins that same night.
