Canadian Teams Morning Review – Jan. 18: Flames, Sens, Habs, Canucks, Oilers, Jets & Leafs
It was one of those NHL nights that feels busy at first glance but narrows once you look closer. All seven Canadian teams played, yet only four games made up the entire slate — the result of so many Canadian clubs running into one another. The league schedule folded in on itself, and what Canadian hockey fans got instead was a cross-section of where each team is sitting emotionally and structurally.
There were comebacks and collapses, confidence rediscovered and confidence draining away. What tied the night together wasn’t fireworks so much as a response: how teams reacted when games tilted, and whether they had the depth, belief, or calm to change the direction before it hardened.
Calgary Flames 4, New York Islanders 2
For the Calgary Flames, this was less about beating the New York Islanders than about reinforcing a stretch of credible hockey. Winning three of four doesn’t change the season outlook on its own, but it does suggest that the Flames are finding a functional rhythm again — one built more on structure than momentum.
Adam Klapka was the most visible contributor, scoring a goal and adding an assist for his first multi-point game of the season. More important than the points was the source of his offence: within the flow of the game, not off broken plays or desperation pushes. That fit neatly into a night where Calgary took control early and didn’t hand it back.
The defining moment came midway through the second period. Holding a 2–0 lead, the Flames didn’t retreat — they extended it. Justin Kirkland and Yan Kuznetsov scored two minutes apart, and suddenly the game shifted from manageable to decisive. Against a veteran Islanders team comfortable grinding games down, that stretch mattered.
There were quieter milestones, too. Rasmus Andersson’s assist pushed him into a rare franchise company, marking his fifth straight 20-assist season. Dustin Wolf stopped 28 shots and snapped a five-game skid, steady rather than spectacular — which, for Calgary right now, is precisely the point. This wasn’t a statement win. It was a reminder that competence still exists here, and that sometimes matters more.
Montreal Canadiens 6, Ottawa Senators 5 (OT)
The Montreal Canadiens didn’t win this game because everything went right. They won it because they refused to give up. Down 5–3 late in the third, the game was slipping toward a familiar conclusion — competitive, entertaining, and ultimately empty. Instead, Montreal ramped up its play and pushed back.
Cole Caufield scored twice, including the overtime winner 33 seconds into the extra frame. But the defining sequence belonged to the final five minutes of regulation. Juraj Slafkovsky tipped in a goal with the net empty, Alexandre Carrier tied it shortly after, and suddenly Ottawa looked unsure of a game it had nearly secured.
That uncertainty mattered because the Senators had reasons to feel comfortable. Jake Sanderson had a goal and three assists. Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle put up solid games. Ottawa even appeared to have put the game away earlier in the third. But Montreal kept pushing forward.
Lane Hutson’s three-assist night underscored the long view. Passing Henri Richard on the franchise list for assists by a player 21 or under isn’t trivia — it’s a signal that Montreal’s skill base is maturing faster than its record suggests. This win doesn’t fix Montreal’s inconsistencies. What it does reinforce is something more valuable right now: the Canadiens expect games to stay alive until they’re actually over.
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Winnipeg Jets 3 (OT)
The Toronto Maple Leafs closed their western trip with a win that said more about patience than control. Trailing 3–1 early in the third period against a Winnipeg Jets team riding a four-game win streak, Toronto didn’t unravel.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson was the fulcrum. A goal, two assists, and involvement in the play that led directly to the overtime winner only hint at his influence. The real value was his timing: breaking plays up, getting shots through, and steadying the game when Winnipeg threatened to lock it down.
The defining moment arrived late in regulation when Bobby McMann tied the game off Ekman-Larsson’s point shot. That set the stage for overtime, where Auston Matthews drew coverage, and Max Domi finished the 2-on-1. Simple hockey, executed cleanly.
Dennis Hildeby deserves mention not for stealing the game but for keeping it reachable. His 27 saves included several scramble stops that prevented the Jets from stretching the lead beyond recovery. This wasn’t a game to celebrate wildly. It was one to catalogue. Toronto didn’t control the night — they endured it until the opening appeared.
Edmonton Oilers 6, Vancouver Canucks 0
The Edmonton Oilers ended this game in under five minutes of the second period, scoring four times on four shots and effectively closing the book before Vancouver could respond. Tristan Jarry was the prominent anchor, stopping all 31 shots he faced for his first shutout with Edmonton. But the defining moment wasn’t a save — it was the sudden collapse of Vancouver’s resistance once the dam broke. Jack Roslovic and Kasperi Kapanen scored twice each, and the Oilers poured it on without their best forward, Leon Draisaitl, who was away for family reasons.
For Vancouver, this marked ten straight losses. It’s a losing streak that the franchise hasn’t endured since 1998. The numbers are harsh, but the tone was worse. This didn’t look like a team waiting for a break. It looked like one searching for the bottom of the spiral. Edmonton, meanwhile, did exactly what a confident team does to a fragile one: they ended it quickly and moved on.
Final Thoughts About Canada’s Teams Last Night
Across four games, the pattern was clear. Teams that stayed emotionally connected found ways to alter outcomes. Teams that didn’t were swept along by momentum they couldn’t stop. On a night where Canada essentially played itself, the separation came not from talent alone — but from belief, structure, and timing.