The Montreal Canadiens are deep in the playoff race with less than 20 games remaining. The Ottawa Senators currently occupy the top wild card seed with Montreal only two points out of the second wild card. The Senators beefed up their roster at the deadline with additions like Dylan Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund. This has allowed them to widen the gap between themselves and the pack. With Ottawa beginning to take a stranglehold of the top spot, the Canadiens will have to set their sights on that second spot. However, falling in the second wild card spot might actually be the best case scenario for the Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal Canadiens Wild Card Race
Avoiding the Gauntlet Atlantic Division
The current top seed in the NHL is the Washington Capitals. This means whichever team finishes in the second wild card will face them and be placed in the Metro Division playoff bracket. This would allow for the Canadiens to avoid the gauntlet that is the Atlantic Division. The Atlantic hosts some of the league’s heaviest hitters and is arguably the deepest division in the NHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers have combined for three of the last four Stanley Cups. They are still juggernaut squads that both beefed up their rosters at the deadline.
The Toronto Maple Leafs also are in the Atlantic Division. They are battling with Florida for the top spot. The Ottawa Senators will have to face one of these squads if they land in the first wild card. The Maple Leafs also added at the deadline with the additions of Brandon Carlo and Scott Laughton. They have one of the best squads they’ve had in years and are no longer an easy team when it comes playoff time. Any team that enters the Atlantic Division bracket will have their hands full and the Canadiens would do best to avoid that side of the bracket.
Metro Division Has Some Question Marks
The Metropolitan Division, in contrast to the Atlantic, is regarded as one of the weakest divisions in the league. They could only have three teams in the playoff picture and all three have their own question marks. Despite the Capitals having the best record in the league, they are not without question marks. Their roster is very unproven and this current rendition outside of Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson have very little playoff experience. They have largely ridden on the backs of Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky‘s record as well as the stellar play of goaltender Logan Thompson. It’s also never usually a good idea to bet on the President’s Trophy winners to have postseason success, something the Capitals and Ovechkin are very familiar with.
As for the remaining two squads, the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils, they both come with issues of their own. The Hurricanes have faced much criticism due to the handling of superstar Mikko Rantanen. Rantanen was acquired from Colorado but only suited up for thirteen games with Carolina before being sent to Dallas. This leaves their forward core without a true star outside of Sebastian Aho. The Devils, on the other hand, had a true superstar in Jack Hughes. However, it was recently announced that Hughes would miss the remainder of the season due to injury. This puts a damper on the hopes of a deep playoff run for a team that was already struggling before Hughes’ injury.
WC2 is More Realistic and Sets Up Better For Draft
The second wild card is first and foremost a more realistic option for the Montreal Canadiens. The Senators seem to be running away with Wild Card one and this sets the Habs up to sneak into that second spot. Columbus, New York, Detroit, and Boston are all in the mix, but the Habs can control their own destiny if they continue to play the way they have coming out of the four nations break.
Falling into the second wild card also comes with one final benefit for Montreal. Grabbing that second wild card likely means the Canadiens were one of the last teams in the league to make the playoffs. This would have them finishing 15th or 16th respectively. This would set up the Canadiens for a better draft position. If they are eliminated in the first round, they would draft somewhere around 17th or 18th. They are also in possession of the Calgary Flames 1st round pick. The Flames are in a similar spot to the Canadiens as they aim for playoffs. With two picks in the 17-20 range, Montreal would be set up nicely for the draft despite making the playoffs. Kent Hughes could even package the two picks to move up in the draft if he wished.
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