The Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings are two of many teams in the NHL trending downwards this season. They are also facing each other tonight. Who should win?
Good morning Montreal Canadiens fans! Instead of starting this Morning Links post with some kind of joke or sarcastic line, I have one question for you. Are you ready for a Tank Battle?! It’s always interesting to see when two teams who are hoping for success at the draft lottery play a game against each other.
If you remember back to the Connor McDavid draft, Buffalo fans were actually cheering when the other team would score and boo when the Sabres scored. I highly doubt that happens in this game, but the hopes as far as the results go are definitely polarizing. Keep in mind, the players on the team as well as Claude Julien himself does not care about the lottery. Why should they change or worsen their play for an 18-year-old who hasn’t stepped a foot in the league (yet)?
No, this Tank Battle is for the fans. Maybe for Marc Bergevin and management as well, but mostly for the fans. The Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings sit at 26th (66 points) and 27th (65 points) respectively. If the Habs win, nothing changes and both teams remain in the spots they’re in now. However, if they lose, Montreal and Detroit swap places putting them in the bottom five.
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Bottom five equals 8.5% chance at winning the lottery which is obviously better odds than 7.6%. There’s another way to look at this game though. The Montreal Canadiens have lost a lot lately. In fact, they are 5-10-5 in their last 20 games. As important as bettering the odds can be, getting a win here or there to better the confidence and mentality of the players set to be here next year wouldn’t hurt as well.
Additionally, a game like this could be a chance to get closer to some milestones for the likes of Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, and Paul Byron. The Montreal Canadiens have lit up the Detroit Red Wings in the past (6-3 and 10-1 victories in back-to-back games) and there’s no reason why they couldn’t do it again. On the other hand, the Red Wings may have those nights in mind and want redemption for them.
Either way, this has the potential of being an intense night at the Bell Centre. Will it be the Battle of the Tank or a Night of Redemption? At this point in the season, it could go either way.
Next: Hayden Verbeek Is A Prospect To Track
Morning Links
Despite mounting losses, young stars are still finding ways to impress in Montreal
As many have harped on in since the Trade Deadline, the growth of the young players on the Montreal Canadiens roster at the moment have made the losing almost bearable (so does the chance of a top-five draft pick).
Canadiens Potential Draft Strategies
This year’s draft will be a big one as it should be one faction of Marc Bergevin’s master offseason play to turn the organization around. How do you approach the day of adding futures? Here are a few options.