Montreal Canadiens: Lessons Playoff Teams Can Learn From Habs 2021 Stanley Cup Final Run

The Montreal Canadiens did not make the playoffs this season. To be blunt, no one was further from the playoffs in the National Hockey Leagues.

The Habs finished the season with just 55 points in 82 games, a paltry number that was surpassed by 19 teams last season – and they only played 56 games.

Speaking of last season, it had a much different ending for the Canadiens. They went on a surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final, taking out Cup contenders in the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights along the way.

While no one should be looking at the 2021-22 Montreal Canadiens and taking notes on what to do, teams would be wise to learn from the 2020-21 version of the Canadiens. You know, the one that shook the hockey world by upsetting three heavy favourites on their way to the Stanley Cup Final.

The teams in the playoffs right now should be looking back at what the Habs were able to accomplish last and asking how they were able to do it. The Tampa Bay Lightning probably don’t need the free advice, but every other team is trying to get where the Lightning have been for the past two seasons.

How do they get there? They pick up on what made the Canadiens so successful a year ago.

These are the three things teams currently in the playoffs should learn from the Canadiens 2021 playoff run.