'They celebrate everyone': Montreal Canadiens enjoying playoff ride

Montreal Canadiens players celebrate their Game 7 victory over the Sabres in Buffalo, N.Y., on Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

RALEIGH — Kirby Dach and his teammates used to discuss a potential future late into the night.

The Canadiens were in a rebuild accented by plenty of tough moments and hard lessons. There was also a deep belief that something special was beginning to crystallize.

“We’d sit together in hotel rooms after games,” said forward Kirby Dach. “And talk about how great it would be to win in the city of Montreal.”

Four years after finishing last in the NHL’s overall standings, the Original Six club has done exactly that this spring.

After besting both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres with Game 7 victories on the road, the peach-fuzzed Canadiens are up against the top-seeded, battle-tested Carolina Hurricanes in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final.

“We’re a confident group,” the 25-year-old Dach said Thursday ahead of Game 1 at Lenovo Center. “We’re all pretty close in age, too, so we’re all enjoying this run together.”

The selection of Juraj Slafkovsky kick-started the Canadiens’ surge from the league’s basement when he was picked first overall at the 2022 draft. Dach was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks the same day before the club’s brain trust made a series of shrewd moves that eventually got Montreal to within eight victories of a record 25th Stanley Cup banner.

“Now that we’re here and we’re doing the things we’re doing, we’re definitely excited for the opportunity,” Dach said. “But I don’t think things ever looked grim when I got here. We were always excited to come to the rink and excited to be around each other, and to build to what we’ve become today.”

Snagged from the New York Islanders via trade at last June’s draft, Canadiens defenceman Noah Dobson has become another key piece of the puzzle.

“You get to this stage, you gotta have a confidence and belief,” he said. “We have that.”

Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis, who won the Cup as a player with Tampa in 2004 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018, said the camaraderie up and down his roster is unique.

“They celebrate everyone, they’re happy for the group,” he said. “It’s different guys at different times, but they’re happy for everyone … I feel that’s not the norm.”

Dach said the Canadiens have bought into the message from St. Louis and his staff.

“Everybody in the locker room wants to do more and be more,” he said. “You have to put aside maybe personal feelings or personal thoughts. You have to do what’s best for everybody around you and the team.

“Do what the task at hand is asking of you. There’s really no better feeling than winning games and spending time with your teammates, and seeing the happiness grow each and every day.”

Dach added that while the players are focused on results, it’s also impossible to ignore the rabid support of a fan base that had to be patient.

“It’s cool to see the city the way it is,” he said. “We appreciate the fans and the love and the support they give us throughout the regular season, but (they’ve) definitely taken it to another level in the playoffs.

“We talked about moments like this.”

Biding their time

The Hurricanes swept the Ottawa Senators to open the playoffs before doing the same to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Carolina was off for 11 days — the longest post-season break since 1920, according to SportRadar — after nearly a week off between the first and second rounds.

So, other than practising, what did the team do during its schedule lull?

“All the dads were parenting,” said forward Jordan Martinook. “I got to go to some things at my kids’ school that I don’t think I ever would if I didn’t have this time.”

But while the family moments were special, the players wanted to get back into the action.

“It kind of sucks … once you’re in the playoff mindset, you just want to be in it,” Martinook added. “We’ve been off long enough that it’s almost like the horses are waiting in the chutes.

“We’re just waiting to get out.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May, 21, 2026.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press