Ranking: a perfect night for the Canadiens’ rebuild

Last night, the Montreal Canadiens kicked off their Western trip with a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames.

The Habs were without a point for the first time this week.

The Tricolore won 3-0 on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and picked up a point in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday.

For rebuilding enthusiasts, it’s a relief to see the Habs lose in regulation time.

Not collecting points is the best the Habs can do to improve their chances in the lottery abacus, because the rest of the Habs’ destiny lies in the hands of the other teams.

They have to win to overtake the Habs in the standings.

Well, yesterday was a perfect scenario, as in addition to the Tricolore’s loss, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Arizona Coyotes AND the Ottawa Senators all won their games.

It was a perfect night for the Habs, who moved up one spot in the lottery standings.

With yesterday’s win over the New York Islanders, the Senators now have a better points percentage than the Habs, which explains why they’re behind the Habs in the lottery, even though they’re one point behind.

And when you look at the other teams, well, the Tricolore can still very well hope to finish in the top-4 for the lottery.

Sixth place in the lottery isn’t bad, but it’s not ideal considering the prospects available at the next draft.

By going fourth, the Habs would be guaranteed to draft sixth in the worst-case scenario.

Whereas right now, the Tricolore could go as low as 8ᵉ if they’re unlucky.

In short, this late in the season, it’s the Tankathon rankings I’m looking at the most, and I seriously hope the Habs manage to climb even higher.

We can forget about the top-3, but if the Habs could string together some losses and the Senators, Coyotes and Blue Jackets could string together some wins, the Tricolore could find itself in a much better position for the lottery and the draft.

When you look at the various mock drafts, you realize that the top three forwards in the draft – Macklin Celebrini, Ivan Demidov and Cayden Lindstrom – are almost always all in the top-5.

Ideally, the Habs should be able to get their hands on one of these three players, the most realistic being Cayden Lindstrom, a 6-foot-4, 216-pound center with excellent skating and offensive skills.

In short, all this remains to be seen, but seriously, as difficult as it is as a fan, you have to want to see the Habs lose as many games as possible.

The rebuilding process would be much quicker if we could get our hands on an elite striker this year.

In a gust

– Incredible season for Reinhart.

The lead extends…

Sam Reinhart sits 11 power-play goals clear of second. pic.twitter.com/fejILrWQQu

– NHL (@NHL) March 17, 2024

– He’s already made his mark on the team.

Matias Coccaro is still organizing to influence referees in his favor.

A genius.

More seriously, what a formidable leader despite his so recent arrival to the team.pic.twitter.com/gQ7zHsjyNw

– Nilton Jorge (@NiltonJorge) March 17, 2024

– Indeed.

– He still has a lot to learn.

– To be continued.