The Montreal Canadiens, like every team in the league this season, had to deal with a condensed schedule right from the first game of the season.
Things were packed in even tighter when a Canadiens player tested positive for Covid-19 and a week’s worth of games had to be rescheduled. After being off from March 21-29, the Habs had a wild sprint to the finish line.
Once the postponed games were rescheduled, the Habs were left to play their final 25 games of the regular season in just 44 days. They essentially had to play four games each week for two months. It is a crazy schedule that a team would never have been asked to play before this season.
Last night was the Habs 17th game in the month of April. They haven’t had consecutive days off without games since they played they returned to the ice after their Covid pause. The result has been some uninspired hockey as of late. It was pretty obvious early on in last night’s game that the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had been off for the past two days (must be nice) had way more jump than the Canadiens.
There may be a bit of a silver lining at the end of this torturous journey.
The Canadiens last game is scheduled for May 12th when they host the Edmonton Oilers. That was supposed to be the end of the regular season altogether, but the Vancouver Canucks had a much worse bout with Covid than the Canadiens.
The Canucks were off for three weeks as most of their team tested positive. They are back in action now, and will play their final 19 games in just 32 days. The thing is, their last game is now scheduled for May 19th against the Calgary Flames.
It’s possible, especially with no fans in buildings, that these games could be cancelled if they are meaningless in the standings. But will they be meaningless?
The Canadiens are just six points ahead of the Flames right now and are ten ahead of the Canucks, but Vancouver has played five less games.
So, if the Flames, or Canucks are still in the hunt for that final playoff spot, those last three games in the final week of the regular season need to be played. The NHL could start the playoffs in other divisions, but can’t start the North Divison postseason until they know who has qualified.
It that goes down to the last minute, the Canadiens will be off for a week before the regular season ends. This would give them a much needed rest and a few days to actually practice before the playoffs begin.
With the way they are playing now, they clearly need the rest. They also have to be careful not to be caught by the Flames or Canucks. Although, they want to keep it just close enough that those three games between the western conference rivals at the end of the regular season still matter.
Starting a playoff series with the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 14th would be a disaster for these exhausted Canadiens. Starting it on May 20th wouldn’t make it an easy matchup, but would give the Habs a chance to take a deep breath and regroup after playing 25 games in 44 days.