Canadian Drought Continues, as ’93 Cup Remains Emblem of Past Era
By Scott Cowan
The Montreal Canadiens entered these playoffs as the 24th and final team heading into the qualifier, whereupon they upset the heavily favoured Pittsburgh Penguins in four games, who continued their dreadful regular-season stretch of play before the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the first round, the Habs put up a great fight against a talented Philadelphia Flyers team, but the calls and bounces simply didn’t go their way, falling in six games. While not a sign that Montreal is ready to compete for the Cup, it did at least give a glimpse into the potential this team has when they play solid hockey.
While a 27-year drought doesn’t look good on paper, in practice, or in conversation, there are still reasons to be hopeful for the future of Canadian hockey. Teams like the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs possess game-breaking stars like Connor Mcdavid, Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner, but continue to be brought down by more broad issues related to their lineups.
Edmonton’s lack of true depth and goaltending proved to be their downfall, falling in the qualifier to an underdog Chicago Blackhawks team who were without their best goalie this year in Robin Lehner. The Leafs have now gone four straight years with first-round playoff exits, as they fell to a John Tortorella led Columbus Blue Jackets team in five games, continually marred down by their similar lack of depth and personality issues regarding their star players.