Goal standard

MONTREAL – These goals weren’t just goals — they were goals.

The Habs lit the lamp 245 times in 2024-25 — some prettier than others, some in clutch moments, but all helping push the team toward the postseason.

And while every goal counts the same on the scoreboard, a few rose above the rest.

From last-minute equalizers to undisputed highlight-of-the-night game winners, here are this season’s best:

THE NEED FOR SPEED

Alex Newhook feels the need… the need for speed.

We don’t know if Top Gun tops his movie list, but the Habs forward certainly channeled his inner Maverick on November 7, flying coast to coast before burying a highlight-reel goal against the New Jersey Devils.

HAT-RIK LAINE

They say all good things come in threes — and for Patrik Laine on December 17, that couldn’t be truer.

He made a habit of unleashing his signature one-timer this season, but the standout came in just his seventh game of the season when he scored a hat trick of power play goals, finished off with this blistering rocket into the top corner.

NO JOSHING AROUND

It’s a bird, it’s a plane… it’s Josh Anderson!

Just nine seconds after Laine made it 2-0 Montreal, Josh Anderson walked a Toronto defender with a nifty toe drag before shovelling a slick backhand upstairs against the Maple Leafs on January 18.

COLE’D AS ICE

We’re still not sure what was better — the goal or the celebration.

Cole Caufield went full video game mode on this Goal of the Year candidate, slipping the puck through his legs to dance past a Sharks defender before roofing it to seal the victory and then launching his stick into the crowd in celebration.

Known more for his pinpoint accuracy than his silky mitts, the Habs sniper pulled out both for this icy overtime winner against the San Jose Sharks on February 27.

NOW YOU ‘C’ HIM, NOW YOU DON’T

You needed to stay up late for this one, but Nick Suzuki made it more than worth it.

A minute and six seconds into a 10:00 p.m. ET puck drop in Vancouver on March 11, the Habs captain turned a chip pass from Caufield into magic.

Holding off a Canucks defender, Suzuki went forehand-backhand before sliding home his 20^th of the season.

BACKHAND BEAUTY

Find something you don’t like about this goal. We’ll wait.

The shot? Filthy.
The crowd? Losing it.
The score? Tied after trailing 4-1 in the third.

Christian Dvorak pulled all the strings on this late-season beauty to force overtime and collect a crucial point in the standings.

IN THE NICK OF TIME

We had to break the rules for this one, because you simply couldn’t have one without the other — literally.

Nobody on the Canadiens knows clutch quite like Suzuki. Tied for second in the National Hockey League with five overtime winners this season, the 25-year-old made a habit of delivering when the stakes were highest.

And few moments mattered more — at least in the moment — than this dramatic equalizer with nine seconds remaining against the Florida Panthers on April 1.

But Suzuki wasn’t done there.

He completed a comeback for the ages with a smooth wraparound that sent the Montreal faithful into a frenzy.

FOUND A LANE

Speaking of sending the crowd into a frenzy, enter Lane Hutson.

You know all about the 21-year-old’s hands and vision, but what about his shot?

Retrieving the puck behind his own net, the Calder Trophy winner raced end to end, dangled past a pair of Philadelphia defenders and roofed the puck glove side past the Flyers netminder to give the Canadiens the all-important third period lead on April 5.

IVAN DEMI-DAWG

Ivan Demidov didn’t just meet the moment — he owned it.

We’ll go out on a limb and say his rookie lap was the loudest of the year… maybe the decade, maybe the century. And that was just the warmup.

Moments after registering his first-career point, Demidov sent a shockwave across the city with an electrifying first NHL goal against the Chicago Blackhawks on April 14.

KEEP CALM AND CARRIER ON

As you might expect, this one isn’t on the list for its “wow” factor.

Rather, the jolt of electricity it sent through the Bell Centre and beyond.

Alexandre Carrier’s wrister in Game 3 opened up the home playoff scoring and closes out the countdown of the best Canadiens goals of the 2024-25 season!