The Montreal Canadiens shouldn’t settle for a wild-card spot
By Omar L
The last stretch for the Montreal Canadiens has propelled them to a decent spot, and if things continue, a higher-ranked finale should be within reach.
The Montreal Canadiens had a total of four games last week. They kicked things off on Monday defeating the Boston Bruins in overtime to end the season series and put a slam on the Florida Panthers the next day at the Bell Centre. Montreal, unfortunately, lost Paul Byron in the process to suspension later on, but it also saw both Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Max Domi end some goal droughts.
The game against Columbus on Friday was taken over by Tomas Tatar and Joel Armia who scored two goals apiece for the Habs while Carey Price kept the opposition at bay stopping 34 of 35 shots. It stings that Montreal couldn’t put a pretty bow on the week and beat Philadelphia.
The Flyers are one of the many teams this year who are surprisingly yet not surprisingly bad this season. Many of their faults lie at the feet of their goaltending. Philly has gone through seven goaltenders so far this season, and they’re currently getting the most out of rookie Carter Hart.
You could consider that loss a write off given how well the Montreal Canadiens played in the first period. It went downhill at the beginning of the second which would eventually see the Flyers score twice in the middle frame and again at the seven-minute mark of the third to go up 3-0. Domi and Brett Kulak were the only players on the team to respond offensively, but it was too late at that point. The final score was 5-2, disappointing yet the overall perspective of the team’s current situation is positive.
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Montreal’s position in the standings hasn’t changed. They’re still in the first of two wild-card spots, but what has changed is the gap between themselves and the top divisional teams. The Toronto Maple Leafs are on a slide which has seen them go 3-7-0 in their last ten games. The Boston Bruins have a better record and are winning games as of late, however, more pressure is going to be placed on Jaroslav Halak with Tuukka Rask out with a concussion.
The Habs are tied with Boston in points and are only a single point away from Toronto. At the beginning of the season, two things were made certain in the minds of the fanbase. Firstly, this team was going to be fast and fun to watch and secondly, if the Montreal Canadiens are going to make the playoffs, it’ll have to be via a wild-card spot.
Given the state of the Atlantic Division at this moment, that doesn’t have to be the case anymore. The Habs are right there, and with a few more stretches of point-producing hockey, they could take one of those top three spots and have an “easier” time in the first round.
A win on Wednesday against the Arizona Coyotes combined with a Leafs loss to Washington starts that process off. Then February will have some opportunities to cement the goal. In particular, their two games against Toronto and matchup in Tampa.
It’ll be interesting to see how the idea of a divisional spot sparks the Montreal Canadiens for the rest of the season. At the same time, Marc Bergevin could start working the phones and contact general managers who are clearly in seller mode. The main idea here is not to settle.