There will be no games in the NHL today, as the league is on the American Thanksgiving break. Most of the time, when a team is in a playoff position at this stage, they end up making the spring dance, but this year seems a bit different.
With 27 points, the Montreal Canadiens are currently just outside of the playoff picture, looking in as they are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. However, not only do they have games in hand on all the teams ahead of them, aside from the Pittsburgh Penguins, but they are also just four points behind the top spot in the east, held by the New Jersey Devils with 31 points, and three points behind the Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
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Rarely have the standings been so tight in the Conference, and it’s much tighter than in the West, where the league-leading Colorado Avalanche have 39 points, followed by the Dallas Stars with 34 points and the Minnesota Wild with 30 points. The West houses the three teams with the lowest point totals: the St. Louis Blues (21 points), the Calgary Flames (19 points), and the Nashville Predators (18 points).
In other words, anything can still happen in the standings, and if the Canadiens can keep their current winning streak going (it will be a challenge with the Vegas Golden Knights and the Avalanche coming up on their schedule), they’ll be right back in the thick of it.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Canadiens haven’t been spared by injuries so far, with Patrik Laine, Kaiden Guhle, Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach all being sidelined for a significant time. GM Kent Hughes has already brought some help in by signing free agent Alexandre Tessier, but he’s still working the phones, according to the rumours swirling around the league. There’s no denying that if he were to be able to bring some much-needed help down the middle, the Canadiens would be in a much better spot.
Putting the goaltending woes in the rearview mirror would also go a long way towards helping Martin St-Louis’ side punch its ticket for the playoffs. Jakub Dobes has been solid in his last two starts, and Samuel Montembeault is bound to bounce back; otherwise, he may end up riding the pine for the foreseeable future since the coach now seems determined to ride the hot hand.
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