Canadiens News & Rumours: Battle with Buffalo, Roster Reinforcements & More – The Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens are officially in control of their second-round series. After a convincing 6-2 win on Sunday night at the Bell Centre, Montreal now holds a 2-1 series lead over the Buffalo Sabres, and the tone of the series feels like it has shifted slightly in their direction.

Here’s the latest news and rumours surrounding the Canadiens.

Canadiens Lead Series 2-1

Alex Newhook stayed hot with another two-goal night, making it back-to-back games where he’s found the back of the net twice. He’s quickly becoming one of those players Buffalo has to account for every shift, not just in spurts. He wasn’t alone either. Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky both snapped out of their mini scoring droughts, which is probably the most encouraging part of the night for Montreal. When those two start finishing chances, the ceiling of this team changes pretty quickly.

On the back end, Lane Hutson continued to look more comfortable with every playoff game. Two assists, calm decisions under pressure, and a general sense that the moment isn’t too big for him. That matters in a series like this. And in goal, Jakub Dobes stayed steady again with 26 saves. It wasn’t a night where he had to steal the game, but he made sure things didn’t swing the other way when Buffalo pushed.

NHL Hands Out Fines

The physical edge of the series carried over after Game 3, and the league responded on Monday with fines on both sides. Arber Xhekaj was fined $3,385 for roughing Sam Carrick following a late scrum at the buzzer. It was one of those end-of-game moments that escalated quickly and didn’t really settle until both benches were separated.

On the Buffalo side, Beck Malenstyn was fined $3,515 for goaltender interference after a heavy collision with Dobes in the second period. The hit sparked a brief pile-up in the crease, and while Dobes stayed in the game, it clearly didn’t sit well with Montreal’s bench.

Canadiens Call Up 4 Prospects from Laval

With the Laval Rockets season now over, the Canadiens didn’t wait long to bring in reinforcements. Four prospects were recalled on Monday: forwards Owen Beck and Florian Xhekaj, along with defencemen David Reinbacher and Adam Engström.

Beck and Engström have already had looks at the NHL level this season, so they bring familiarity and some reliability. Xhekaj adds a heavier, more physical element that can swing momentum in a playoff series, while Reinbacher continues to get valuable exposure at this level after a strong first pro season.

Game 4 heads back to the Bell Centre on Tuesday night. If Montreal keeps playing with the same structure and confidence from Game 3, they’ll put real pressure on Buffalo before the series shifts back across the border.