Karine Hains Wed, October 21, 2026 at 7:30 PM UTC · 4 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens will visit the Winnipeg Jets at Princess Auto Stadium for their fifth outdoor game. To date, the Habs are 2-2-0 outdoors, and while some fans and media have grown somewhat jaded because these events have become so frequent, the players haven't. Speaking ahead of the Canadiens tilt with the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, Kaiden Guhle explained:
When I first moved to Edmonton, we lived in a house with a little lake behind it. My brother, myself and a couple of his buddies on his team when they were bantam, we'd just all go out there and mess around. We brought out a couple of nets; it was fun. It was always good to get outside and mess around at the outdoor rink. There's one year we forgot to bring the net out, and the ice melted, and we lost the net in the water, so…[…] I'm excited. I've never played an outdoor game; I've always wanted to, and I've always thought we should have gotten one as an original six team, but it will be fun to get out there in Winnipeg. Hopefully it's not too cold, but it will be fun. It will be a lot of atmosphere, a lot of family. I think the guys will have fun; I know my parents are coming, and they're nice and close, so that will be fun.
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Veteran Chris Kreider took a different approach when asked how enjoyable outdoor games are: "They're only enjoyable if you win. I mean, it's like a dog-and-pony show, and if you lose, it's an even bigger letdown."
In other words, for him it's a lot of fanfare around what they normally do, which is compete for two points.
As for Cole Caufield, he's looking forward to the game, especially since he hasn't scored against the Jets yet. Something he put forward himself, and when he was asked if he kept track of that, he chuckled and said, " Of course! The sniper should be pumped on the day; then, as for what he's going to do on Saturday night, since there won't be a game, the Wisconsin native replied that the Milwaukee Brewers are playing in the World Series, so he may just go and watch that, before realizing that would be somewhat unrealistic with the travel time. Still, the baseball fan in Caufield looked very happy to follow his boyhood team on the biggest stage of them all.
After sending David Reinbacher and Owen Beck back to the Laval Rocket, one might wonder if that means Mike Matheson and Florian Xhekaj are nearing a return. Still, it could also be to let them suit up for the AHL outfit tonight and be called up again afterward. Time will tell, but the Canadiens won't take off on their road trip until Thursday afternoon, so they could still recall them after seeing a game of action. It will likely depend on what we see at practice tomorrow.
One thing's for certain, though: Martin St-Louis will have a tough decision to make. Who to give the start to in net? Had Jakub Dobes played lights out on Tuesday night, I think he would have had it in the bag, but given how the game ended, the coach may reconsider. Expect to see Jacob Fowler in net on Friday night, and if the young netminder stands out, it wouldn't be surprising to see him get the Heritage Classic start. Interestingly, when the Habs had Carey Price in net for outdoor games, they lost both meetings. They dropped the first 4-0 to the Calgary Flames , and the second, in 2017, to the Ottawa Senators 3-0. Whoever is in net should have better offensive support than Price did.
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