The NHL has made some changes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after the Play-in Round, which is going to make things more difficult for the Montreal Canadiens.
First and foremost, the Montreal Canadiens should be happy they’re getting an opportunity to play. Those seven other teams who didn’t make it – save for the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators – would do anything to be in their position as they were the last team to qualify based on points-percentage.
We’ve known for a while that the Habs would get the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. Many have already appropriately deemed Carey Price as the deciding factor in that series. Price has stolen series in the past for the team, 2014 being one of those key years. However, that was six years ago.
It’s a different team in front of the goaltender this time around and a much older Price who hasn’t looked like his legendary self. Rest and newly-found hope could change that, however, so much so that the 32-year-old may be able to reach down and activate that clutch gene once again for the Habs. That said, getting through a healthy team of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang is no easy task.
The initial rules saw a bracket-style in the workings. The winner of the Habs-Pens series would take on the Philadelphia Flyers, who gets a bye as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The next round would have the winner of that series take on the winner of the Boston v ‘Leafs or Blue Jackets’ series and so on.
Teams saw an issue with this, and therefore, a change was made.
Here’s the full breakdown of the 2020 NHL playoffs pic.twitter.com/jyLVm2jgut
— Stars Nation (@StarsNationDAL) June 4, 2020
Instead of the playoffs being a bracket, there will be continuous re-seeding. The highest seed in each conference will take on the lowest seed, and the former will have home-ice advantage. As the lowest seed to qualify for the Play-in Round, the Montreal Canadiens will always be the lowest seed and will always be on the wrong-end of home-ice advantage.
Say, for example, everything comes together, and the Habs manage to make it past the Pittsburgh Penguins. Next round, they’ll be taking on the Bruins. Fans will love to see a rivalry take place in the playoffs, but Boston is clearly on another level, and there’s no way around that. If there aren’t any upsets, Montreal will see the likes of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals as well.
An already tricky journey just got even tougher. Magical stories do happen in the playoffs, though. Take what the Vegas Golden Knights were able to do in their inaugural season. They channelled their Disney Channel story all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. However, the Habs don’t have the same pieces, and goaltending can only get them so far.
The Montreal Canadiens will have the hardest path to a championship this season. So if they end up going all the way and doing the thing, don’t accept any ‘asterisk’ talk from any other fanbase. It’ll be more than deserved.