Hockey Inside Out

Jakub Dobes stopped 32 of 34 shots Tuesday night in the Canadiens’ 3-2 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights at the Bell Centre, improving his record to 16-5-3 with a 2.96 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage.

Is the 24-year-old now ready to take over the No. 1 goalie spot from Samuel Montembeault?

That’s the main question answered on this week’s Hockey Inside/Out Show as The Gazette’s Stu Cowan is joined by former Canadiens teammates and 1986 Stanley Cup champions Chris Nilan and Rick Green.

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said after Tuesday night’s 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild that his team was “excellent” at five-on-five and that it was on of the best games of the season.

On this week’s Hockey Inside/Out Show The Gazette’s Stu Cowan is joined by former Canadiens teammates and 1986 Stanley Cup champions Rick Green and Chris Nilan to discuss how the Canadiens have improved their five-on-five play this season and also talk about the phantom tripping penalty that cas called on defenceman Lane Hutson after the Wild’s Marcus Foligno tripped all by himself without ever being touched by Hutson.

The Canadiens blew a 2-0 lead Tuesday night in Washington and lost 3-2 in overtime to the Capitals.

Why do the Canadiens have so much trouble with the Capitals, and why do they have problems getting the job done in close games?

Those are some of the questions answered on this week’s Hockey Inside/Out Show, as The Gazette’s Stu Cowan is joined by former Canadiens teammates and 1986 Stanley Cup champions Chris Nilan and Rick Green, who played seven seasons with the Capitals after being the No. 1 overall pick at the 1976 NHL Draft.

The Canadiens headed into Wednesday night’s game against the Calgary Flames at the Bell Centre with a 23-13-6 record and three points out of first place in the Atlantic Division.

What has been the most impressive thing about the team through the first half of the season?

That’s the main question answered on this week’s Hockey Inside/Out Show, as The Gazette’s Stu Cowan and Brendan Kelly join former Canadiens defenceman and assistant coach Rick Green.

Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes brought Phillip Danault back to Montreal last Friday night in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings, giving up a second-round pick at next year’s NHL Draft.

Was it a smart move?

That’s the main question answered on this week’s Hockey Inside/Out Show as The Gazette’s Stu Cowan is joined by former Canadiens teammates and 1986 Stanley Cup champions Chris Nilan and Rick Green.

After Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, the Montreal Canadiens' home record dropped to 8-9-1, compared to 9-3-3 away from the Bell Centre.

Why are the Canadiens struggling to win at home?

That’s the question answered on this week’s Hockey Inside/Out Show as The Gazette’s Stu Cowan is joined by former Canadiens teammates and 1986 Stanley Cup champions Chris Nilan and Rick Green.

The Canadiens are having a lot of problems keeping the puck out of their net, including in Tuesday night’s 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Bell Centre.

Is it a goaltending problem or a defensive-system problem?

That’s the question answered on this week’s Hockey Inside/Out Show as The Gazette’s Stu Cowan is joined by former Canadiens teammates and 1986 Stanley Cup champions Chris Nilan and Rick Green.

The Canadiens dropped to fifth place in the tight Atlantic Division and out of a playoff spot following Tuesday night’s 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre.

While goaltending has been a problem this season, former Canadiens teammates and 1986 Stanley Cup champions Chris Nilan and Rick Green believe the team’s defensive-zone coverage is a bigger problem.

They explain why on this week’s Hockey Inside/Out Show while joined by The Gazette’s Stu Cowan.

Florian Xhekaj made an impressive NHL debut with the Canadiens on Saturday night, coming within a goal of a Gordie Howe Hat Trick in a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On this week’s Hockey Inside/Out Show The Gazette’s Stu Cowan is joined by former Canadiens teammates and 1986 Stanley Cup champions Chris Nilan and Rick Green to talk about what impressed them most about Xhekaj, who finished the game with an assist, a fight, two shots, three hits and a blocked shot in 9:48 of ice time while playing on the third line with Jake Evans and Josh Anderson.

The Canadiens have been hit hard by injuries this season with forwards Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and Patrik Laine all out long-term, along with defenceman Kaiden Guhle. They have also been getting inconsistent goaltending from Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes.

As a result, the Canadiens have lost six of their last seven games (1-3-3). With all that in mind, can this team make the NHL playoffs?

That’s the main question answered on this week’s Hockey Inside/Out Show as The Gazette’s Stu Cowan is joined by former Canadiens teammates and 1986 Stanley Cup champions Chris Nilan and Rick Green.