The Montreal Canadiens' full 2026-27 schedule landed Thursday afternoon, and one line jumped off the calendar right away.
Habs insider Eric Engels flagged it first: Montreal gets back-to-back-to-back home dates at the Bell Centre right after Christmas. He called it a first for the franchise.
Look at December. The Canadiens open the month with five home games in the first two weeks, hosting the Lightning, Panthers, Senators, Golden Knights and Ducks before a mid-month trip.
Then comes the part that matters. After a stretch away to Columbus, Buffalo and Minnesota, Montreal returns to the Bell Centre on December 26.
They host the Maple Leafs that night, the Stars the next day, and the Blue Jackets again three days later. Three home games in five days, coming right off Christmas.
That's not a normal trip pattern for this franchise. Montreal typically boards a plane the day after Christmas dinner, not the other way around.
Habs 84-game schedule dropped. Immediate standout: post-Christmas games at the Bell Centre. That's a first.
- Eric Engels
This time, the Habs leave before the holiday, not after it.
St-Louis gets a rare gift in his own barn
Martin St-Louis has coached the Canadiens since February 2022, and body clocks matter more than most fans realize during the holiday stretch.
A team that plays at home right after Christmas skips the overnight flights and hotel breakfasts that usually follow the turkey. That's real recovery time in a league that never stops moving.
Columbus shows up three times on the December slate alone, twice on the road and once at the Bell Centre to close out that home run.
Montreal closed last season at 48-24-10 for 106 points, good for sixth overall and third in the Atlantic Division, with a plus-27 goal differential.
A softer holiday travel slate could matter if they're chasing points again in December.
The rest of the month brings road trips to Buffalo and Minnesota, a home-and-home look at Columbus, then a New Year's Eve matinee in Tampa Bay.
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Whether the NHL schedule makers meant it as a gift or just an accident, Montreal isn't complaining. Nobody in that locker room misses Boxing Day flights.
Does Montreal's rare post-Christmas homestand give the Canadiens a real edge this season?
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