The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning haven’t been what many expected, and the Montreal Canadiens should continue to take advantage of it.
Let’s turn black the calendar to, say, August. The Montreal Canadiens had a relatively quiet summer while the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning were doing their best to make sure they were ready to bounce back for the new year. The Leafs saw another first-round series against the Boston Bruins end in defeat after seven games while the Lightning had the best regular-season record in years to disappointingly be swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Both teams made their moves and had their expectations, and with a quarter of the season gone, it’s safe to say those expectations have not been met. Toronto and Tampa Bay sit outside of playoff spots, which has been great for the Montreal Canadiens, who occupy one of the top-three positions in the Atlantic Divison. If things were going “according to plan” you’d expect the Leafs and Lightning to be there, but alas, this is reality.
The Habs currently have 27 points in 22 games. The Florida Panthers have the same amount of points but only sit a spot higher because they have fewer games played. And then there are the Boston Bruins who are running away with the Atlantic Division with 31 points and a solid 13-3-5 record.
The Leafs and Lightning, on the other hand, are 9-10-4 (22 points) and 9-7-2 (20 points), respectively. Their poor play – in combination with the Habs managing to put some points together – is providing them with a golden opportunity to do some damage this season. Unfortunately, that won’t last forever.
At some point, those two teams are going to turn things around. The Montreal Canadiens are in a window where they can take hold of that Atlantic Division spot and hold the Leafs and Lightning to wild-card spots or even outside of the bubble.
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Take advantage of how well Nick Suzuki has played this season. Believe in the possibility of Jesperi Kotkaniemi finally taking the next jump we all expected him to. Build on the energy of Shea Weber‘s season and on the potential of Cale Fleury as he’s finally solidified himself in the Habs blueline. And most importantly, be confident in Carey Price getting the Montreal Canadiens back to the playoffs.
Keep in mind a few things. The Toronto Maple Leafs finally decided to part ways with Mike Babcock. There’s a strong belief that he was a large part of the reason why they were playing so poorly. They were never a strong defensive team, but it was getting to the point where their offence was inhibited. Now former Toronto Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe is up to try to salvage the season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning haven’t lost their offence, but there are clear signs of disorganization from their elimination last year. The team relies on their scoring way too often, leaving their attention to detail to the wayside. That’s where the losses to the Senators and Rangers came from and their recent pair of losses to Winnipeg and St. Louis.
To make matters worse for them, Nikita Kucherov left the Blues game with an upper-body injury when he was just starting to look like his old self.
The Eastern Conference has a number of cracks within its structure, and the Montreal Canadiens can’t take that for granted. There’s still room for a number of teams to come back and improve. Let’s not forget about the Buffalo Sabres, who are still in the bubble.
A strong stretch in the next month or so can really establish the Habs’ position in the Atlantic Division. However, it’s up to them to decide how they want this to play out.