When the season began, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton talked about playing meaningful games in March as being the next step in the Canadiens rebuild. Playing these games would be a great learning experience for the second youngest team in the NHL, one that could be used as a stepping stone to reach an even higher level in the future.

Meaningful games in March were played and here we are, April 4th, and Montreal is not only still playing games that actually matter, they are in full control of their destiny, leading a pack of teams for that last wildcard spot in the eastern conference.

Their most direct rival to make the playoffs seems to be (although things change quickly in this league) the disappointing New York Rangers. A team most considered as an obvious pick to make the playoffs are currently two points behind Montreal but they hold the tie breaker between both teams with 32 regulation wins. The Canadiens having only 26, they won’t be able to make the playoffs without cleanly beating the Rangers with more points.

If Montreal sneaks in by one or two points, we’ll need to remember the small miracle that happened on March 30th against the Florida Panthers when Montreal turned a 2-1 deficit with 30 seconds left and faceoff in their own zone into a 3-2 overtime victory. In a previous blog, I mentioned how this team never gives up and they gave us another great example in that game, making the best of a desperate situation. That play not only showed resilience, but it gave another evidence of how things have changed in Montreal. It’s one thing to not give up and play until the end, it’s another to actually have enough talent to turn that effort into results.

Juraj Slafkovsky, Lane Hutson and the Captain Nick Suzuki all did their job under tremendous pressure and scored what may very well be the goal that makes the difference in a long 82 games season. Of course, that goal happened after a lucky bounce when Sam Reinhart decided that crucial moment in the game was the perfect time to finally live his childhood dream and try the goaltender position, but as Martin St-Louis said in his presser after the game, you need to have a player smart enough to be in that spot to receive that bounce.

The Bell Centre is roaring, the city is buzzing and the players can feel it. With 7 games left in the season and a pair of games against teams that aren’t in playoffs contention (Flyers, Preds) these are points you cannot afford to throw away if you want to fully remain in control of your own destiny.

A few milestones

After defeating the Bruins, a few milestones were achieved by some of our players that need to be mentioned to truly understand how positive the rebuild has been for Montreal:

Nick Suzuki became the first Habs player to score 80 points in a season since Alex Kovalev in the 2007-2008 season.

Cole Caufield became the first Habs player to score 35 goals since Max Pacioretty in the 2016-2017 season.

Lane Hutson has beaten the team record previously held by Chris Chelios for most assists by a rookie defenseman. Hutson currently has 57 assists, beating Chelios previous record of 55 and is only 3 assists away from tying the all-time NHL record of 60 held by Larry Murphy.

The Boston Bruins lost a 10th straight game for the first time since the 2009-2010 season.

That last one might not be directly linked to the Habs rebuild and success, but it shows how things are shifting in the eastern conference when a team that’s been successful for so long like the Bruins now look to be on the downfall while Montreal are rising in the standings.

With these milestones being achieved by the team’s core players, all players 25 years old or younger, Habs fans have a reason to be excited by the current season and the possibility to make the playoffs. Not to take anything away from Kovalev and Pacioretty, but when these two achieved their great seasons with the team at the mentioned seasons, their best years were behind them. This time, we feel these milestones, as great as they are, are just the beginning for Suzuki, Caufield and Hutson.

The Canadiens are ahead of schedule in their rebuild and with two of their best prospects likely beginning their NHL career next year when Ivan Demidov and David Reinbacher join the roster, the fans can be excited about next season as well.

Third line impact

When Martin St-Louis decided to join what may have been the three most disliked contracts of the team together on one line, many were skeptical about what these three players, all underperforming the last few years, might be able to accomplish together.

All season long, Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson have shown the way to their teammates by playing with intensity, going to the dirty areas and chipping in offensively from time to time.

Not only are they still doing these things, but they're now the team's most effective line at 5 on 5 with 3.04 expected goals per 60 minutes. While Evans line’s effectiveness has dropped off considerably lately (maybe the return of Oliver Kapanen with the team can help?), Dvorak’s line picked up the slack by playing to their strength. They send the puck deep inside the zone, fight the battles along the boards and play a heavy game cycling the puck in the offensive zone, eventually creating scoring chances. These things obviously helped the team win games by producing points (13 goals and 12 assists between them in their last 10 games) but they are such a pain to play against that I’m sure they are slowly but surely draining the other team’s energy as well.

This way of playing has proven to be especially effective in the playoffs and with every game played currently being the most important game of the season, this line’s contribution needs to be mentioned as a big reason Montreal is still holding on to that last wildcard spot.

The Habs are playing the Flyers and Preds next while the Rangers are facing the Devils and Lightning. If there was ever a moment to distance ourselves from our current biggest competitor, I’d say this weekend might be it.


Last minute news to end things, Jacob Fowler ends his NCAA career as he will join the Laval Rocket on an amateur tryout, with his actual entry level deal beginning only next season.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day!

Hugo Brossoit (Scabeh)

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