To carry the torch into the Bell Centre for playoff games against the Buffalo Sabres, perhaps the Canadiens could honour Jacques Laperrière (six Stanley Cups), Jacques Lemaire (eight Cups), Steve Shutt (five Cups) and others from the 1960s and 1970s. They are all aging and will become fewer as time catches up to all of us. Let’s remember them in person!
G. Manson, Brampton, Ont.
The Canadiens definitely have a lot of options as to which former player will carry the torch into the Bell Centre for Game 3 against the Sabres on Sunday (7 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports) after Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard and Chris Nilan carried the torch for the three home games against the Lightning.
You could add Larry Robinson (six Cups), Guy Lapointe (five Cups), Bob Gainey (five Cups) and Réjean Houle (five Cups) to your list of former Canadiens who could carry the torch. Another good pick would be Guy Carbonneau, the last Canadiens captain to hoist the Stanley Cup in 1993.
Which Canadiens great will be tapped to carry the torch into the Bell Centre before Game 3 against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday night? Montreal Gazette illustration
Patrick Roy was the goalie for the Canadiens’ last two Stanley Cups, in 1986 and 1993, but is still under contract to the New York Islanders for two more seasons after getting fired as head coach last month, which might be a problem.
It’s great that president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton has welcomed the Canadiens legends back to the Bell Centre with open arms after they were shunned for years by former general manager Marc Bergevin.
As you noted, the legends aren’t getting any younger, and they should be celebrated and cherished while they’re still with us. It was wonderful to see Cournoyer, 82, and Savard, 80, carry the torch.
It was also great to see Nilan, 68, get the honour, and he talked about it this week on a bonus episode of The Gazette’s Hockey Inside/Out Show.
“It was incredible,” said Nilan, who won one Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1986 and is the team’s all-time penalty-minutes leader with 2,248.
“I got really emotional about it because when you look at the past players who’ve done that, they’ve all been Hall of Fame guys,” added Nilan, who earned the nickname “Knuckles” during his 10 seasons with the Canadiens. “And to have a plumber like myself be asked to do that, it was really emotional for me. It was an incredible honour. It’s an honour to be asked to do that, and it’s something I’ll never forget. I’m so proud of that moment. I’m so happy that the organization asked me to do it. It really was something.”
What surprised you the most about the Montreal-Tampa Bay playoff series? And, if applicable, what left you wanting more?
Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.
The biggest surprise was the lack of offence five-on-five from the Canadiens’ top three forwards — Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky.
Suzuki (29), Caufield (51) and Slafkovsky (30) combined for 110 goals during the regular season. Seventy-two of those goals came at even strength, led by Caufield with 40.
During the seven-game series against the Lightning, that trio had one even-strength goal — by Suzuki in the 2-1 Game 7 victory. Slafkovsky had three power-play goals in the series, while Suzuki and Caufield both scored once with the man advantage.
What’s really surprising is that the Canadiens were able to win the series while getting almost no five-on-five production from that trio. The Canadiens also struggled with the man advantage after Slafkovsky scored three power-play goals — including the winner — in the 4-3 overtime victory in Game 1. During the next six games, the Canadiens went 2-for-21 on the power play, but still managed to win the series.
The more pleasant surprises were the play of rookie goalie Jakub Dobes, who posted a .923 save percentage against the Lightning, and how the defence stepped up in the absence of Noah Dobson for the first six games with a thumb injury.
The Canadiens will need a lot more from their top three forwards in order to beat the Sabres in their second-round series, along with more outstanding goaltending from Dobes.
Canadiens winger Cole Caufield passes the puck past Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Darren Raddysh during the second period of Game 4 at the Bell Centre on April 26. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
What is up with Cole Caufield? Is he injured?
Jeff on X — @Habcat
At this point in the season, I don’t think any players are 100-per-cent healthy, but I don’t think it’s an injury to blame for Caufield scoring only one power-play goal against the Lightning.
It’s hard to find time and space during the playoffs — and even harder for a forward like Caufield, who is only 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds. It’s also easier for coaches to come up with a strategy to shut down a top offensive player in the playoffs when they’re playing seven consecutive games against the same team.
The Canadiens were able to limit the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov to one goal in the seven games — and none on the power play — after he scored 44 goals during the regular season.
“As a whole, it’s not where I want it to be,” Caufield told reporters in Buffalo ahead of Game 2 Friday night after the Sabres won Game 1 by a 4-2 score. “I expect a lot of myself and my teammates do, too. So just trying to get better every game and just try and make a difference.
“It’s still there,” Caufield added about his confidence. “Obviously, I want to be better, I want to produce more. But you can’t lack confidence in this league. Once you do, I think that’s when you really start to struggle. So the confidence is there. The positivity in this room’s still going strong. So there’s no worries here.”
Canadiens forward Oliver Kapanen ties up Florida Panthers’ Mike Benning during the second period in Montreal on April 7, 2026. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
Do you think with this series against Buffalo being a little more open than the Tampa Bay series that Oliver Kapanen could give the Canadiens some offence?
Claude Rioux
I think he could, and he might also be able to get Ivan Demidov going offensively after they were linemates for much of the regular season and combined for 41 goals — 22 by Kapanen and 19 by Demidov.
Kapanen ranked third among NHL rookies in goals during the regular season, one behind Anaheim Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke and New York Islanders defenceman Matthew Schaefer. Demidov ranked sixth among NHL rookies in goals and first in points with 62, including 43 assists.
Demidov had an assist in Game 1 against the Lightning and was held pointless for the next six games. He picked up an assist in Game 1 against the Sabres while playing on a line with defensive-minded centre Jake Evans and Alex Newhook.
Why have the Canadiens had three playoff games on Fridays and not Saturdays? I miss my Saturday routine!
Maureen Jones
The NHL caters to U.S. television networks when it comes to playoff scheduling, and they prefer American matchups in prime time on Saturday nights. That’s why Games 1 and 4 of the Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers first-round series were both played at 8 p.m. on Saturdays.
The NHL also has to deal with building availability. The Canadiens and Lightning played Game 1 of their first-round series on a Sunday in Tampa in part because the Benchmark International Arena was booked for a concert the previous night.
In Round 2, the Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes played Game 1 on a Saturday at 8 p.m. and will play Game 4 tomorrow at 6 p.m., followed by Carolina at Minnesota at 9 p.m.
The Canadiens will play their first Saturday game of the playoffs next weekend in Buffalo if their series goes six games.
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