Five "Must Lose" Games Remaining On Montreal Canadiens Schedule
The Montreal Canadiens were among the bottom teams in the standings for the past two seasons, and that resulted in a couple of very high draft picks.
The only consolation for a team that can not win many games is hope for the future in the form of an early draft pick. The Canadiens already added Juraj Slafkovsky first overall in 2022 and David Reinbacher with the fifth overall selection in 2023.
While they started this season better, and were plugging along around a 0.500 points percentage for much of the season, the team has hit a rought patch recently. They have lost five consecutive games and are now 17 points back of the playoff pack. It seemed they were always a handful of points back but there has been a separation between the haves and have nots in the Eastern Conference and the Canadiens have not.
So, it is time to start looking a little closer at the 2024 NHL Draft prospects. The Canadiens are going to have a pretty high pick once again, and sit sixth from the bottom of the NHL standings right now.
It isn't a ton of fun to talk about, but we have to be realistic. The Canadiens would benefit from many competitive losses where the first line combine for eight or nine points and Montembeault and Primeau look good but they lose 4-3.
Looking ahead to the NHL Draft and the draft lottery ahead of it, there are five games that stand out as "must lose" contests for the Canadiens to get themselves the best chance of winning the first overall draft pick.
April 13 at Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are doing that thing in the second half of the season where they look really good for a long stretch. The problem is they also did that thing they always do where they are absolutely awful for the first 30 games or so of the season.
This is usually followed by a sobering stretch to end the season as they realize they can not pull off the miracle and make the playoffs. When the Canadiens head to Ottawa in mid April, they will have just three games left on their schedule and will need to drop this one to ensure the Senators have a worse draft pick than them.
March 24 at Seattle
The Seattle Kraken were one of the most surprising teams in the league last season. They made the playoffs in just their second year of existence but will not be heading back to the postseason this year.
Right now, they have 59 points which puts them seven ahead of the Canadiens. However, the Kraken are likely to trade off a few veterans like Jordan Eberle, Alex Wennberg and Justin Schultz which will not help them win more games in the final two months of the season.
When the Canadiens head west in March, they face three tough Canadian teams before heading to Seattle to face the Kraken. If they want to pick in the top four, this is a game they need to allow the other team to grab two points.
March 16 at Calgary
Speaking of that trip out west, there are three tough Canadian teams on that schedule, but the easiest of those three games will be the Calgary Flames. Right now, the Flames are close to a playoff spot, but they are rumored to be one of the busiest teams heading up to the trade deadline.
We could see the Flames plummet after trading Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and maybe even Jacob Markstrom. They won't have a lot left, and will likely not fall as far as the Canadiens in the standings, since they are nine points ahead right now. But if they are in freefall when the Canadiens show up a week after the trade deadline, it would be best long term if the Canadiens come away with zero points in this one.
March 12 at Columbus
The Canadiens actually have a ridiculously difficult schedule over their final 24 games of the season. They face the Stanley Cup contending Florida Panthers twice, the Carolina Hurricanes twice, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings all twice as well.
There is another game against the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Colorado Avalanche, and New York Rangers. Somehow, of their final 24 opponents, 15 of them seem to be playoff locks with the Nashville Predators and Philadelphia Flyers could make it as well.
There are only two teams the Canadiens play the rest of the season that are behind them in the standings. One of them is the Columbus Blue Jackets and they will travel to Montreal in the middle of March. The Blue Jackets are four points back of the Canadiens and stand between the Canadiens and the fourth best odds at winning the draft lottery. That's a must lose.
February 27 vs Arizona
It all starts tonight! Well, it started five games ago when the Canadiens started losing every game. But they can't lose games like the Arizona Coyotes who have now lost 12 in a row.
The Coyotes had a strong first half, and could start winning game again if Connor Ingram finds his form now that he has returned from injury. The Coyotes have fallen one point back of the Canadiens but with the Habs difficult schedule, they could easily drop below the Coyotes by the end of the season for that slightly higher draft pick.
A loss tonight would drop the Canadiens into the bottom five for the first time this season. In a rebuilding year, that is where you want to end up and there best chance of doing that is by losing to the Coyotes. Hopefully Caufield scores a pair and sets up Suzuki for another one in a 4-3 regulation time loss.
feed