On October 9, 2025, the Canadiens won their first game of the season. 5-1 in Detroit, two nights after the 5-2 loss in Toronto.
The detail that makes this game interesting is not the score.
17 against 31
The Canadiens put 17 shots on the Detroit goaltender. The Red Wings put 31 on theirs.
Five goals on seventeen shots is a 29% rate. Over a season, a team converts around 10%.
That kind of night does not repeat. It is worth two points all the same.
5 different scorers
Mike Matheson, Alexandre Carrier, Juraj Slafkovský, Zachary Bolduc, Oliver Kapanen. One apiece.
Two defencemen among them — Matheson and Carrier — and neither is the first name that comes to mind for scoring.
Twelve Canadiens recorded at least one point. Out of eighteen skaters dressed, that is two thirds of the bench.
Nick Suzuki and Brendan Gallagher had two assists each. Matheson added an assist to his goal.
All three stars were Montreal's
Matheson, Suzuki, Gallagher.
Two nights earlier in Toronto, all three stars were Maple Leafs. It took forty-eight hours for the picture to reverse completely.
What to take from it
A game won while being outshot reads easily as a theft.
It happened 44 times that season. And the Canadiens won 28 of those 44.