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The Habs are one point away from the playoffs: to get there, it’s going to take some help at center
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
The Habs are one point away from the playoffs: to get there, it’s going to take some help at center
Credit: Getty Images
Last night, as my colleague Raph Simard wrote earlier this morning, several of the Canadiens’ rivals in the playoff race lost hockey games last night.

Yes, the CH also lowered its flag in Edmonton, but it was in overtime. #OnePoint

But that means that on this trade deadline day, the Canadiens find themselves just one small point away from the playoffs. Is that what it means to be #InTheMix for the playoffs?

(Credit: NHL.com)
The optimists will say that one point is not much… especially since several clubs in the race are selling.

But those who are the type to see the glass as half empty will say that there are several good teams to surpass to qualify and that the CH, which has a 15% chance of making the playoffs, is a team that has holes right now.

For example? The second center position.

If the Canadiens want to qualify for the playoffs, it can’t be done with Owen Beck in the role he currently has. After all, he plays eight minutes per game (yesterday, it was 8:22) and he’s not top-notch right now.

Maybe one day, when he has a bit more experience, he’ll be able to face the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl of the world. But yesterday, he couldn’t, and his line played little.

Right now, it’s not complicated: the Canadiens have a first line and an effective bottom-6. But the second line, starting with the center position, is not up to par. And to make the playoffs, it’s going to take some help.

But since Kent Hughes shouldn’t be playing in the players’ rental market and a top-line transaction is mainly done in the summer, we can doubt the arrival of a top-6 center today.

But we’ll see what happens.

Jake Evans had a good game yesterday and he’s in town to stay. And Christian Dvorak, who shouldn’t be traded today, can also help the CH until the end of the season – in his own way.

But Nick Suzuki can’t do everything alone, and if management wants to push for the playoffs, they have to do something. But how much do they want to push for the playoffs, exactly?

Yesterday, the Canadiens did well overall in a 3-2 loss. There was a certain playoff atmosphere during the game since both teams had things to prove.

The playoffs have started, the coach recently said…

Even if the team on fire (the Canadiens) lost to a team that was going nowhere, the Montrealers showed that they wanted their GM to be in action on the trade deadline.

And when I say in action, I don’t mean selling.


overtime

– What’s happening in the Mikko Rantanen file?

– Patience in Philly regarding Scott Laughton.

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