Canadiens Lineup

Tyler Toffoli – Nick Suzuki – Joel Armia

Tomas Tatar – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Josh Anderson

Corey Perry – Eric Staal – Cole Caufield

Artturi Lehkonen – Jake Evans – Alex Belzile

Brett Kulak – Ben Chiarot

Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry

Alexander Romanov – Jon Merrill

Jake Allen – Cayden Primeau

Erik Gustafsson

Michael Frolik, Joseph Blandisi, Charlie Lindgren, Michael Pezzetta, Joel Teasdale

Brendan Gallagher (hand), Carey Price (concussion), Paul Byron (lower-body), Jonathan Drouin (undisclosed), Shea Weber (upper-body), Phillip Danault (concussion)

Game Report

The Canadiens are very likely to make the playoffs. It’s almost assured. But with three chances to clinch a playoff berth this week and three consecutive losses, the Habs will take it to the final two games of the season to seal the deal.

Montreal has 12 regulation losses in their past 19 games, that’s the most of any team in the NHL since April 7th. So while the Canadiens will make the playoffs, they are limping across the finish line benefiting from having the 22nd, 27th and 29th ranked teams in the league trailing them.

Marc Bergevin believes in the adage that ‘get to the playoffs and anything can happen.’ It’s a romantic, fanciful notion. Every so often a team like the Los Angeles Kings comes along to turn the odds on the ears. But the truth is that higher seeded teams in the standings have a far greater record of success in the playoffs and usually prevail.

So falling backwards into the playoffs is not likely to engender a lot of hope for fans particularly the way the Canadiens have played in their last two matches against the Leafs. Which is why Habs supporters on social media reacted with a raised eyebrow to a report that Geoff Molson and Bergevin have begun preliminary discussions on a contract extension for the Montreal GM.

We have already heard the focus-group tested excuse that never in the history of the sport has any team endured such a schedule. Spare us. The Canadiens have been outplayed, outcoached and outmanaged but will still make the playoffs due to the quirks of the pandemic divisional structure. Yet change is badly needed.

Habs still rely on Price and Weber

The Canadiens will go as far in the playoffs as Carey Price can carry them on his own, in other words, the same formula in place for the length of Bergevin’s tenure.

You’ve heard elsewhere that Jake Allen can carry the load as the number one goaltender. It’s simply not true. With all due respect to Allen, he is no where close to that level. Stephane Waite said that Allen is no longer a number one goaltender. And Jake has proved him right for the past month.

Since Price sustained a lower-body injury on April 5th, Allen has started 14 games and won just six of them with a 2.96 goals against average and an .897 save percentage. Allen has wilted under the pressure of pursing a playoff berth and being the every game, go-to guy in goal.

Tonight against the Leafs, Allen was caught napping by a weak shot from Pierre Engvall. The goal just five minutes into the second period gave Toronto life and they scored three straight. 

With a win over the Canadiens, the Maple Leafs clinched the division title, their first in 21 years. On April 28th, Toronto had clinched a playoff spot with a 4-1 win over the Habs at the Bell Centre. And the two teams are likely to meet in the first round of the playoffs.

The Leafs, with solid management and coaching, have built a contender. It’s time that the Canadiens organization shelves the excuses and puts the pieces in place to do something similar.

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