Primeau allowed three goals on seven shots in Thursday's 9-2 loss to Pittsburgh.
Primeau hadn't been on the ice since giving up five goals on 29 shots in a 6-3 loss to Boston on Dec. 1. He entered midway through the Penguins six-goal third period. The relief entrance marked the fourth time he's replaced a struggling Sam Montembeault. Primeau has a 4.70 GAA and .836 save percentage through 11 appearances (seven starts).
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Lit up in Boston
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Primeau allowed five goals on 29 shots in Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Bruins.
The Bruins jumped on Primeau and the Canadiens with three goals in a 70-second span midway through the first period. The fourth goal allowed was a shorthanded one, but it came on a breakaway, which suggests Primeau wasn't always supported by the team in front of him. Still, it was the fourth time in seven starts that he's allowed at least five goals. Primeau sports a 4.45 GAA and .844 save percentage over 10 outings. Sam Montembeault will likely be back between the pipes Tuesday at home against the Islanders.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Starting Sunday
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Primeau will be between the pipes for Sunday's road game versus Boston, according to Marc Denis of RDS.
Primeau will get the second half of Montreal's back-to-back after Sam Montembeault played in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Rangers. The 25-year-old Primeau is coming off a 21-save effort in a 4-3 overtime win over Columbus on Wednesday. He has a 2-2-1 record with a 4.37 GAA and an .846 save percentage through nine appearances this season. Boston is tied for last in the league with 2.32 goals per game in 2024-25.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Holds on for win
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Primeau stopped 20 of 23 shots in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime win against Columbus.
Primeau backstopped Montreal's first overtime win of the season. His defense let him down on the first two goals and the third got past him on a carom off a Montreal skate. It was a hopeful outing for Primeau, who made his first start since Nov. 11. He entered the night with a 4.59 goals-against average and .842 save percentage, which explains the recent lull in activity. Montreal continues its road trip Saturday in New York against the Rangers.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Gets starting nod for Wednesday
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Primeau will be between the pipes on the road against Columbus on Wednesday.
Primeau will get the second game of the Habs' back-to-back while Sam Montembeault guards the crease versus Utah on Tuesday. In his eight appearances this year, the 25-year-old Primeau is sporting a 1-2-1 record, 4.59 GAA and a career-worst .842 save percentage. Those numbers certainly aren't going to give the coaching staff confidence to deploy Primeau for more than the occasional back-to-back.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Guards net for third period
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Primeau replaced starter Sam Montembeault for the third period of Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Golden Knights.
For the third time this season, Primeau replaced an ineffective Montembeault, who gave up five goals in the second period. Primeau faced just three shots, giving up a goal to Jack Eichel. Montembeault is ripe for being replaced as the No. 1, but Primeau sports an ugly 4.59 GAA and a disappointing .842 save percentage through eight appearances.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Starting Monday
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Primeau will get the road start Monday against the Sabres, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
It'll be the first start for Primeau since Oct. 31. The 25-year-old netminder is 1-2-1 on the year while struggling to an .861 save percentage and 4.39 GAA. Primeau will face the Sabres, who have won three of their last four games, scoring 15 goals in that span.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Takes loss in Washington
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Primeau allowed six goals on 34 shots in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Capitals.
Primeau got the start over a struggling Sam Montembeault, but it didn't change Montreal's fortunes. The Canadiens, who were embarrassed in an 8-2 loss to the Kraken on Tuesday, allowed another six tallies and are tied for last in the NHL with 4.18 goals allowed per game. The Habs next take on the Penguins in Pittsburgh.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Facing Capitals
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Primeau will be between the visiting pipes in Washington on Thursday, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Primeau came on in relief of Sam Montembeault on Tuesday and gave up three goals on 13 shots in an 8-2 loss to Seattle. Primeau is 1-1-1 with a 4.03 GAA and an .871 save percentage in five contests this season. The Capitals have found the back of the net 31 times in only eight games in 2024-25.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Poor in relief appearance
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Primeau stopped 10 of 13 shots in relief of Sam Montembeault in Tuesday's 8-2 loss to the Kraken.
Primeau has allowed at least three goals in all five of his appearances this season (three starts). The 25-year-old is fortunate to have a 1-1-1 record while adding a 4.03 GAA and an .871 save percentage. It's discouraging to see Primeau struggle after he seemed to turn things around in 2023-24, but until he gets back on track, he's not an option outside the deepest of fantasy formats.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Holds on for win
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Primeau stopped 23 of 26 shots in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Flyers.
The Canadiens led 4-1 for much of the third period, but the Flyers scored twice late in the frame to make things interesting. Primeau was able to hold the fort, earning his first win in four appearances this season. He's allowed a total of 15 goals on 126 shots while going 1-1-1. Sam Montembeault has handled the starting duties for the Canadiens, and that's likely to continue with Primeau doing little to make a case for more playing time. Montreal doesn't have a back-to-back over the next week.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Slated to start Sunday
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Primeau will start between the pipes during Sunday's road matchup against Philadelphia, JF Chaumont of LNH.com reports.
Montreal will play a back-to-back Saturday against the Blues and Sunday against the Flyers, and Primeau will be in the crease for Sunday's road matchup while Sam Montembeault starts at home Saturday. Over his first three starts of the season, Primeau has posted an 0-1-1 record, 4.21 GAA and .880 save percentage.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Fills in for ineffective starter
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Primeau entered Tuesday's 7-2 loss to the Rangers midway through the first period and stopped 32 of 35 shots.
Primeau relieved an ineffective Sam Montembeault, who was chased after letting in four goals on 10 shots. Primeau held strong for awhile and was called on to prevent several high-danger scoring chances before buckling in the third period under a barrage -- New York fired 45 shots on net, had another 20 attempts that missed the mark, and 16 other attempts were blocked. Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis has some time to consider which netminder will start this coming Saturday against the Blues.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Finally falls in shootout Saturday
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Primeau turned aside 33 shots in regulation and overtime and six of nine shootout attempts in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Islanders.
The 25-year-old was the busier of the two goalies on the night, but Primeau couldn't handle Noah Dobson's shot in the ninth round of the shootout as the Habs fell short. It was a much better showing than Primeau managed in his first start of the season, but his .862 save percentage this season still has him firmly behind Sam Montembeault on the Montreal depth chart.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Facing Islanders
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Primeau will protect the road crease against the Islanders on Saturday.
Primeau had a tough outing in his first game of the season, giving up six goals on 29 shots in a 6-4 loss versus Boston. Primeau is the backup to Sam Montembeault this season and should appear in 25-30 games, barring any injuries. The Islanders have scored only 10 goals in four games this season.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Allows six goals in loss
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Primeau stopped 23 of 29 shots in Montreal's 6-4 loss to the Boston on Thursday.
Primeau faced a team motivated to turn the page on a poor effort in Tuesday's loss to Florida, and that showed in the first period when Boston put 13 shots on net and scored three times. The Bruins scored two more in the second and entered the third period with a 5-2 lead. However, Montreal didn't play like a team on the second night of a back-to-back and made it close before Primeau allowed a softie late.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Starting against Boston
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Primeau is starting Thursday's road game against the Bruins.
Sam Montembeault drew the start in Wednesday's Opening Night matchup against the Maple Leafs and turned aside 48 shots in the 1-0 win. Primeau made 23 regular-season appearances for Montreal last year and recorded an 8-9-4 record, 2.99 GAA and .910 save percentage.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Falls to Sens on Tuesday
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Primeau made 12 saves in Tuesday's 4-3 preseason loss to the Senators.
The 25-year-old netminder was done in by his special teams Tuesday -- in a penalty-filled game, all four of Ottawa's tallies came on the power play. Primeau is coming off a 2023-24 campaign in which he posted a very passable .910 save percentage over 23 appearances, and he's expected to see his workload increase as the backup to Sam Montembeault this season.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Slated for preseason action
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Primeau is expected to start Monday's home preseason contest versus Philadelphia, per Luc Gelinas of RDS.
Primeau posted a record of 8-9-4 with a 2.99 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 23 regular-season appearances with the Canadiens in 2023-24. He will likely enter the upcoming campaign as Sam Montembeault's backup.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Busy in Tuesday's shootout loss
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Primeau turned aside 36 shots in regulation and overtime and two of three shootout attempts in Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the Red Wings.
The 24-year-old netminder nearly stole a win for the Canadiens in their regular-season finale, but David Perron found a tying goal for the visitors with just five seconds left in the third period, and Patrick Kane was the only successful skater for either team in the shootout. Primeau gave up four goals or more in each of his last four starts this season while going 0-2-2, and he finishes the season with an 8-9-4 record over 23 outings with a 2.99 GAA and .910 save percentage. While he won't be the favorite, Primeau should head into camp next season competing with Sam Montembeault for Montreal's starting job.
