The Montreal Canadiens had played 57 games before the NHL entered its Olympic break, leaving them with 25 games left in the regular season. 13 of the remaining 25 games will be played at home, where the Habs have a 16-11-1 record, a plus-three goal differential, an 18.9 % success rate on the power play and an 81% success rate on the penalty kill. Meanwhile, they have a 16-6-7 record away from the Bell Centre with a plus-11 goal differential, and their power-play efficiency is 28.1%, while their penalty kill is only 73.5%.
Of course, with so little time left before the end of the season, it will be a hectic schedule, including three four-game weeks, with four back-to-backs. 11 of the 25 games will be against teams that are currently in playoff position, and 14 games will be against teams that are currently on the outside looking in. That’s not necessarily good news, as some of these teams will be fighting with desperation to get in, but on the flip side, there may be a few that have already given up.
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The Canadiens are currently in second place in the Atlantic Division, six points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have been on fire of late, winning their last five games and posting an 8-1-1 record in their last 10. Jon Cooper’s men seem to be on their way to a Division Championship, and Martin St-Louis and co. will face them twice before the end of the season, that’s no easy task.
Montreal will also have to lock horns with the Carolina Hurricanes twice before the end of the season. Rod Brind’Amour’s team is currently first in the Metropolitan Division, has won its last three games, and has an 8-0-2 record in its last 10 games, and it hasn’t lost in regulation since January 13.
Just like last season, the Columbus Blue Jackets are fighting for their survival, and they were on a big roll before the break. They’ve won their last seven games and are 9-0-1 in their last 10. They sit four points out of the playoffs as we speak, but they do have a game in hand on the Boston Bruins. Will they remain hot long enough? In any case, that’s another team Montreal will have to face twice before the end of the regular season.
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There’s one team that they’ll need to face three times, though: Patrick Roy’s New York Islanders. The Isles are currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division and have won their last two games. They’ll visit the Canadiens on February 26th when Montreal returns to action, and it will be crucial for the Habs to pick up where they left off.
The Habs have done very well so far this season, but the road ahead is a challenging one, and they’ll need to be even better if they want to book their playoff spot well in advance of the end of the season.
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