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Ranking: the Canadiens are (only) two points away from the playoffs

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
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Ranking: the Canadiens are (only) two points away from the playoffs
Credit: Getty Images
For the past few days, things have not been going well for the Canadiens.

Is it a disaster? No, it’s not a disaster. But let’s say that victories aren’t coming as quickly as the club had accustomed fans right after the holidays.

I say it’s not a disaster not because of the upcoming draft, but because the club is still in a position to aspire to make the playoffs. Right now, the Canadiens are only two points behind the Lightning and the last playoff spot in the standings.

(Credit: NHL.com)
Yesterday, the Bruins and the Lightning (the two second-best teams) lost. The Rangers also fell, which prevented them from surpassing the Canadiens in the standings.

However, it won’t be like this every night.

For a week now, the Canadiens have resumed their bad habit of leaving points on the table: the team has only earned one point in three games. There isn’t much uproar in the city because the CH wasn’t expected to be this high in the standings… but it’s not ideal either.

If the CH wants to stay #InTheMix, it will need to ensure it wins games.

Of course, yesterday’s game was a good challenge. We knew the Jets had a chance to win, and at least, Martin St-Louis’s players were not completely outplayed.

The coach, who saw his players start the game well, said he liked what he saw from them, even though there was a lack of opportunism. Yesterday, the puck just wasn’t rolling for the Canadiens.

But the challenge for a club like the Canadiens is to play for 60 minutes. It’s nice to start the game strong and shoot more than the Jets at the beginning of the match… but you need to play every minute of the game.

The goal by Winnipeg at the very end of the second period is a good example. It’s part of the learning process for a club like the Canadiens.

In the 4-1 defeat of the Canadiens yesterday, the CH didn’t always look good, but it’s not all doom and gloom either. What do I take away from this matchup against one of the powers in the NHL?

Apart from the injury to Kaiden Guhle (which we discussed at length this morning), of course…

1. Lane Hutson wasn’t playing with Mike Matheson yesterday – at least at the start of the game. He was playing instead with Kaiden Guhle… and he was positioned on the right side. So it was a good challenge for him.

But it went well. At least, the coach is happy with what Hutson, who “appears” less on the ice these days, brought to the rink.

2. Patrik Laine is another player whose star is starting to fade a bit. He hasn’t scored in his last four games and he’s not the most involved among the power play players.

Yesterday, he only received 13:47 of ice time. It seems like the CH was only playing one line yesterday (the first), and Laine’s performance may explain why.

3. Michael Pezzetta had a good game… within the limits of what he can bring. He played for five minutes, but those were five good minutes for his coach.

I know a Quebecer who must be wondering when he will get his chance… #RHP


overtime

The Canadiens will practice this morning at 11:30 in Brossard. The goal? To prepare for the visit of the Wild and Marc-André Fleury, who will be playing theoretically his last career game at the Bell Centre.

Will Jayden Struble be at practice? We’ll see.

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