Habs Beat The Oilers 4-1 Thanks to A Complete Team Effort
The Montreal Canadiens came into Sunday night’s game to shut down Edmonton Oilers superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and they did just that with a complete team effort with a 4-1 victory. Jakub Dobes particularly stood out as he stopped 27 of 28 shots to help lead the Canadiens to victory. However, his teammates made it a little easier on him than they did on Saturday for Jacob Fowler by playing a more responsible version of defence.
The Montreal Canadiens bounced back from last night’s loss with a strong 4–1 win over the Oilers.
Thoughts?
Les Canadiens de Montréal ont battu les Oilers 4–1.
Prochain match : Canadiens c. Flyers
16 décembre à 19 h#GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast @TonyMarinaro pic.twitter.com/yi64yN73iM— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) December 15, 2025
Some may say Dobes bounced back after a bad start in his last outing on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning; while that may be true, his performance seems more of a result of what happens when he gets sufficient rest between starts so that they can make sure that he’s playing at full strength. The fact that he had to play 3 games in 4 nights between last Saturday and Tuesday meant he got overworked, and as a result, he really started to struggle. Sunday’s game proved how important it is not to overplay Dobes to the same capacity that the Canadiens used Samuel Montembeault last season.
McDavid cuts through Montreal’s defence like a hot knife through butter, but Dobes shuts the door. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/VJ93FZ2zIr
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 15, 2025
Of course, with Montembeault’s struggles, it’s nice to see that the Habs can still rely on Dobes every couple of games, who went back to the goaltender we saw last Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Dobes made a lot of big saves when they were needed against the Oilers on Sunday, which is why he was named the first star. If anything, this game proves that Dobes never struggled earlier in the week, as he played great hockey when not being overused.
Another player who stood out and deserves a lot of credit for the little things that went right is Mike Matheson, who played a shift that lasted over 4 minutes at the end of the game with the Oilers pushing to get back into the game with their goalie pulled. During that shift, Matheson served as the leader in defending the lead, and even when given a chance to change, he chose to stay on the ice. He finished the night playing 26:05, which was 3:25 more than any other Habs player on the night.
What a heroic 5 on 3 penalty kill by the Habs vs the Oilers
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) December 15, 2025
Matheson was also a key part in killing a 2:00 5-on-3 power play for the Oilers that took place early in the first period. The Oilers got a 2-man advantage after a cross-checking penalty on Oliver Kapanen, and then on the same play, Juraj Slafkovsky was called for hooking as well. Despite the penalty trouble that the Canadiens got into, led by Matheson, Jake Evans, and Dobes, they were able to gain momentum by killing off the two minors.
The Habs appeared to open the scoring a little later on the power play of their own as Brendan Gallagher jammed the puck past Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard. Unfortunately, it was deemed that the last touch on the puck before it went into the net was a kick motion by Gallagher’s skate, and the goal was called back.Aside from Gallagher’s called-back goal, there was no scoring in the period, and it was still 0-0 after 20 minutes.
IVAN DEMIDOV WITH A LASER BEAM SNIPE 🎯 pic.twitter.com/MtRHpR44yX
— Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) December 15, 2025
Just 2:28 into the 2nd period, Ivan Demidov would score on the Habs’ next power play to officially open the scoring. Demidov’s goal came after he fired the puck from the right faceoff circle after a pass by Slafkovsky from the side of the net. Recently, Demidov hasn’t been shooting enough, so it was great for him to finally release a shot and score. Not only did it help the team, but it may give him more confidence in using his shot more.
– Connor McDavid gets rid of the puck quickly just as he noticed Josh Anderson was about to hit him
– The pride of Kirkland, QC Joe Veleno strikes again
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) December 15, 2025
A little later in the 2nd period, McDavid gave the puck away with a bad pass right into the slot that landed right on Joe Veleno’s stick, and he ripped it past Pickard to put the Habs up 2-0. This was Veleno’s 2nd goal of the season.
There were also two breakaways by Nick Suzuki in the 2nd period, but he was unable to capitalize on his chances, and the Canadiens would go into the dressing room with a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.
– Juraj Slafkovsky is playing the best hockey of his young career
– Lane Hutson is inevitable
– Nick Suzuki has been snakebit recently, must be a relief for him to score that goal
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) December 15, 2025
Suzuki would get another chance to score in the 3rd period, where this time around he would put the puck in the net to give the Habs a 3-0 lead. The goal came on the power play after Lane Hutson passed the puck over to Slafkovsky, who put it towards the net and onto Suzuki’s stick to tip the puck into the net.
The Oilers have life!
Zach Hyman bangs home a powerplay goal to make it 3-1. pic.twitter.com/0N0NxeCLlE
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 15, 2025
Dobes continued to keep the Oilers offence off the board until Zach Hyman scored on the power play after jumping on a rebound from an Evan Bouchard blast to get his team on the board. The goal gave the Oilers some life, but it wouldn’t be too little too late.
Alexandre tenait à cœur notre avance de trois buts
Thanks for restoring our three-goal lead, Alexandre#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/JgnnlizdYh
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 15, 2025
Just 1:23 later, Alexandre Texier came down the ice on a 2-on-1 with Brendan Gallagher, where he fired the puck past Pickard to give the Canadiens a 4-1 lead. This was Texier’s first goal at the Bell Centre.
After that, the Canadiens shut things down and made sure the Oilers wouldn’t get many more high-danger chances, and the ones they would get, Dobes would keep everything in front of him. The Habs held on and got the victory to improve back to .500 at the Bell Centre with an 8-8-1 record on home ice. They played one of their best games of the season, with very few errors after their early penalty trouble.
The Habs will be back in action on Tuesday as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre at 7:00 pm ET. These two teams will be facing off for the 2nd time of the season. The Flyers won the first matchup 5-4 in OT back on November 4th. The Canadiens will be looking to build off Sunday’s big win.
What were your thoughts on Sunday’s performance? Do you think they can repeat it on Tuesday night?
