A Winning Habit
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It’s not possible for the Montreal Canadiens to tank the Qualifier

By Omar L

BOISBRIAND, QC - OCTOBER 05: Alexis Lafreniere #11 of the Rimouski Oceanic skates during the warm-up prior to the game against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada at Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau on October 5, 2019 in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada defeated the Rimouski Oceanic 5-3. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
BOISBRIAND, QC - OCTOBER 05: Alexis Lafreniere #11 of the Rimouski Oceanic skates during the warm-up prior to the game against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada at Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau on October 5, 2019 in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada defeated the Rimouski Oceanic 5-3. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 30: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Players on any NHL team do not care about what is coming. All they’re concerned about is their individual future and the state of their team and whether or not they can have an opportunity at making the playoffs and winning the Stanley Cup.

The Montreal Canadiens haven’t had an opportunity like this for three years. However, not many players on the roster now were around for that series against the New York Rangers back in 2017. Shea Weber, Carey Price, Brendan Gallagher, Phillip Danault, Artturi Lehkonen, Jeff Petry, and Charles Hudon (briefly) were the only ones. But all have been desperately waiting for a chance to compete for a championship, especially Weber and Price.

You can say the same thing for Tomas Tatar, who has been in the league for seven years and came close to winning it with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018. It wouldn’t have been the most fulfilling victory as he barely played with the Golden Knights, but a name on the Stanley Cup is a name on the Stanley Cup.

I’ve also seen many say this Stanley Cup isn’t going to count because of the odd circumstances. And to that, I say the same thing: a name on the Stanley Cup is a name on the Stanley Cup.

Those veteran players who have been sitting on their hands waiting to be put in a situation to win aren’t going to care because, at the end of the day, you’re still playing four full playoff series’ to the top. And with the Stanley Cup Qualifier, it’s technically five.

You can’t ask Weber, Price, Petry and Tatar to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins on purpose. They are going to try, they are going to fight for a gifted opportunity that wouldn’t have come otherwise.

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