The Montreal Canadiens have barely gotten their 2026-27 season off the ground, but one issue has jumped to the front of the line fast: they’re giving up too much at the wrong end.
Through three games, Montreal has allowed 14 goals, which puts it sixth-worst in the NHL. That’s a tiny sample, and nobody is sounding alarms over three nights of hockey alone.
Still, the way those goals have piled up is hard to ignore. This isn’t just bad luck or one ugly bounce here and there.
Some of the same defensive cracks that showed up last season are already back in the picture.
A lot of the damage has come from the Canadiens making life harder on themselves. Turnovers have repeatedly left them exposed, whether that means opponents attacking in transition or finding too much room around the net.
When Montreal can’t get the puck out cleanly, the pressure turns immediate. Those mistakes have fed high-danger chances and forced the goaltenders into tough spots.
There have also been stretches where the coverage simply hasn’t been sharp enough. Opponents have found open ice, won battles and gotten second looks around the crease.
The answer doesn’t look like a total overhaul. It looks more like a team that has to execute its own system better and faster.
The encouraging part for Montreal is that this movie has already played before. The Canadiens dealt with similar defensive issues at points during the 2025-26 season.
Turnovers hurt them then, too, and their man-to-man coverage in the defensive zone wasn’t always where it needed to be. One missed assignment could snowball into another, and against skilled NHL teams, that kind of breakdown usually ends in the back of the net.
But Montreal also proved last season that those problems can be cleaned up. As the year went on, the Canadiens became more reliable in their own zone. Their coverage tightened, their puck decisions improved and that carried into the playoffs.
That’s the version of the Canadiens they need to get back to now. Martin St.
Louis and his staff don’t need to tear anything down after three games. They need the details to sharpen up: cleaner breakouts, fewer careless turnovers, better communication and a stronger commitment to assignments in the defensive zone.
Montreal has enough offensive talent to handle plenty on its own, but it can’t keep handing out extra chances.
Help may be close. Jeff Gorton said both Kaiden Guhle and Oliver Kapanen could be back within roughly the next week, and either return would matter. Getting both back would give Montreal a much-needed lift.
Guhle’s absence has been especially noticeable. He brings a defensive edge that is tough to replace.
He can take on hard matchups, defend the rush, win battles and steady a blue line that has more offensive skill than pure shutdown ability. His return should also let St.
Louis use his pairings in more natural roles.
Kapanen brings a different kind of value, but it matters just as much. He isn’t going to solve everything by himself, yet he is a responsible forward who can help the Canadiens control play and offer another dependable option down the middle.
Defensive hockey is never just about the defensemen. Forwards have to support the puck, help the breakout and make smart choices through the neutral zone.
So no, three games don’t define the season. And no, 14 goals against doesn’t wipe away the optimism around this team.
But it does shine a bright light on a problem that needs attention right now. Montreal has already shown it can fix these exact issues.
Now it has to do it again.
In Other News...
Canadiens Suddenly Have A New Lineup Concern Beyond Demidov
The Canadiens lineup picture has taken on a little more haze heading into a busy stretch against the Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings. Demidov is already out with an injury, and Oliver Kapanen has also been missing from several practices, leaving head coach Martin St-Louis with more uncertainty than he likely wanted at this point in the schedule.
Kapanens absence has added another layer of intrigue because the Canadiens have not offered much to explain it, and the timing matters with games coming up quickly. St-Louis now has to keep sorting out combinations and depth options while trying to cover for Demidovs absence, and the clubs next few days may say a lot about how flexible the roster really is. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens May Have Found The Answer To A Big Top-Line Debate
Juraj Slafkovskys place in the Montreal Canadiens lineup has been one of the more interesting debates around the clubs recent stretch, and it took a twist when he was shifted onto the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. The move came with Ivan Demidov sidelined, forcing the Canadiens to adjust their forward combinations and giving Slafkovsky a chance to show how he fits beside the teams two most established finishers.
The appeal is obvious: Slafkovskys size, puck protection and improving play can help drive a line that already has skill to burn, while the alternative is sending him back down to a second unit where he might carry more of the puck and the playmaking load. Montreal now has a decision to make about whether the experiment is a short-term fix or something worth keeping in place once the roster is back closer to full strength. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Face A Goalie Decision They Didn't Expect
A routine practice took an unwelcome turn for the Canadiens when Sam Montembeault went down with a non-contact right leg injury, and the team is expected to update his status later. For a club that had not exactly planned on revisiting its crease chart this way, the timing matters, especially with the goaltending picture still being shaped by what Jakub Dobe does with his opportunities.
Jacob Fowler is the name that naturally enters the conversation if Montreal needs help from Laval, where the young netminder has already made a strong impression in limited looks at both the NHL and AHL levels. If Montembeault is sidelined, the Canadiens could be looking at more than a short-term patch, with a possible extended evaluation in the crease depending on how Dobe holds up in the meantime. [Read more 🡒]