About Last Night: Watch Markov get an ovation, Xhekaj fight vs. Jets

On Andrei Markov appreciation night, the Montreal Canadiens stopped the bleeding on defence in a tightly contested 3-2 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday at the Bell Centre.

Jakub Dobes won the goaltending duel over Eric Comrie with a 29-save performance. The Winnipeg netminder, starting while reigning Vézina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck is out following knee surgery, also made 29 saves and frustrated the Habs shooters all night.

The difference was a winning goal in the shootout by Cole Caufield.

Arber Xhekaj also came to defence of partner Alexandre Carrier after he got hit cleanly by Adam Lowry. Xhekaj and Lowry had a good scrap that fired up the crowd.

But first, a two-minute ovation for the former Canadiens defenceman Markov, who suited up for 990 games as a Hab from 2000-2017 and is near the top of just about every statistical category for Habs blue-liners.

2 minutes et 14 secondes!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/nVDfCwYHfz

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 4, 2025

He’s a man of few words, but he did save a few for the organization, fans and former teammates, including P.K. Subban.

.@PKSubban1 pic.twitter.com/6USJkBf15r

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 4, 2025

On to the game. Coach Martin St. Louis shook up his lines following

Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Ottawa Senators

. He reunited Juraj Slafkovsky on a stacked top line, while Zachary Bolduc got dropped to the fourth line. No forward played less than Bolduc on the Habs on Wednesday.

Florian Xhekaj sat for Jared Davidson, and recent arrival Alexandre Texier got an audition on the second line with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov.

Here’s Xhekaj and Lowry dropping the gloves in the first period after the latter sent Carrier flying with a hit.

ARBER XHEKAJ AND ADAM LOWRY DROP THE GLOVES AT CENTRE ICE 💥 pic.twitter.com/27rS1uvQ4x

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 4, 2025

The only goal of the first period was from Habs nemesis Mark Scheifele with 1:25 left in the period. Fans still boo him every time he touches the puck since his hit on Jake Evans in the 2021 playoffs.

Mark Scheifele’s 14th of the year opens up the scoring in Montreal ✈️ pic.twitter.com/HR6uPazOhX

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 4, 2025

The power play was the lone bright spot against the Sens, and that continued last night. Slafkovsky scored his second PP goal in as many games to even the game 1-1 in the second period. The Habs are six for the last 10 with the man-advantage. Caufield and Suzuki continued their hot play with assists.

Il est aussi parfait que ce but
Accidentally called her perfect instead of the 2022 1st overall pick#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ddbLQePVg5

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 4, 2025

Less than two minutes later, sniper Kyle Connor was left with too much time and space after a long shift by the top line, and he beat Dobes post and in to regain the lead for Winnipeg.

Can always count on Kyle Connor to find the back of the net 🚨 pic.twitter.com/pzkMUNzDe0

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 4, 2025

But the Canadiens rallied back. Demidov from the corner made a perfect pass to Kapanen in the slot, and he beat Comrie to draw even 2-2. Texier got his first assist on that line. All tied up after two periods.

How about this Demidov/Kapanen connection? 🥵 pic.twitter.com/0G89cjjwzY

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 4, 2025

It went all the way until the shootout, and many Comrie and Dobes saves in between, before anyone would score again. On the first attempt in the shootout, Cole Caufield changed speeds and beat Comrie. That’s all Montreal needed, and a post on Gabriel Vilardi’s attempt, to seal the victory.

Le marqueur marque
Shooters shoot, scorers score#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/WOCz2xpX8G

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 4, 2025

It was a balanced game in terms of shots and chances, with both goalies being up for the challenge. In both cases, the Jets and Habs had to resort to their backups.

After playing a season-low 18:51 against Ottawa, Noah Dobson played 21:16, which isn’t a lot considering they went to overtime. He and Matheson were caved in much of the night and had to block a combined 10 shots as a result. Is the honeymoon over for the top pairing?

Jake Evans spent most of the third period against Ottawa on the bench, but St. Louis immediately returned to his trusted third-line centre with 16:22 of ice-time. According to Hockey Stat Cards, Texier was a good fit on the second line. Could he be a workable Alex Newhook substitute?

NHL GameScore Impact Card for Montreal Canadiens on 2025-12-03: pic.twitter.com/EFijtD3fPN

— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) December 4, 2025

The liveblog commenters on the

Hockey Inside Out YouTube livestream

deserved a workmanlike performance after two duds against Colorado and Ottawa. The packed holiday schedule continues for the Habs with another back-to-back this weekend.

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