A Winning Habit
Fansided

The Montreal Canadiens 13-game process to make the playoffs

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 02: Montreal Canadiens right wing Brendan Gallagher (11) celebrates his goal during the Pittsburgh Penguins versus the Montreal Canadiens game on March 02, 2019, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 02: Montreal Canadiens right wing Brendan Gallagher (11) celebrates his goal during the Pittsburgh Penguins versus the Montreal Canadiens game on March 02, 2019, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 05: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The 13-game process can be separated into four weeks. Think of this as the Montreal Canadiens own NFL season.

Week 1

The Habs have been off since their 8-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. They’ll be getting back into action Tuesday at the Bell Centre against the Detroit Red Wings. On the surface, this should be an automatic win for the Montreal Canadiens.

The Red Wings are a bottom five team in the NHL and are 1-7-2 in their last ten. Their most recent loss saw the Florida Panthers score six goals including two NHL firsts from Josh Brown and Dryden Hunt. Whether Detroit is tanking or they’re just a bad team, probably a combination of both, their efforts have resulted in a lot more losing than winning with little to no goal scoring.

Montreal had a crazy win against the Red Wings the last time they faced off where Andrew Shaw scored his first career hat-trick. A similar result needs to happen. Not only because of the needed points but because the Habs need a confidence boost to start their run to the end.

The next game will be more difficult with a night in Brooklyn against the New York Islanders. With Pittsburgh winning more games, the Islanders are at risk of losing their position in the Metropolitan Division. Additionally, they’ve proven to be a different and heavier team this season, and their goaltending has taken them over the top more often than not.

Chicago is in a similar but different boat. They’ve turned their story around looking to pull a Pittsburgh and go on a late run into the playoffs. However, they’re seven points out of the second wild-card spot.

It’s a battle between three other teams in the west, and the Blackhawks will need that win to keep themselves in it.

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