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Quotes in December: Patrik Laine must hope the Blue Jackets don’t make the playoffs
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Quotes in December: Patrik Laine must hope the Blue Jackets don’t make the playoffs
Credit: Getty Images
Do you remember when Patrik Laine, just hours before facing the Blue Jackets, said he had asked to leave Columbus because he was tired of losing there?

The Blue Jackets had canceled the video tribute planned for him and the guys in the Columbus locker room were upset. It seemed to whip the Ohio players into shape for the rest of the game.

This is why this morning, when I look at the standings, I think Patrik Laine must really hope his team qualifies – and not just that they’re #DansLeMix. Because if not, he’ll hear about it a lot… and not for good reasons.

(Credit: NHL.com)
For now, it’s still possible to see the Blue Jackets (who are doing all this without Johnny Gaudreau) overtaking the Habs in the standings. And even if the Habs have a 96.4% chance of making the playoffs, according to MoneyPuck, they can’t take it lightly.

Let’s recall that if the Habs get two points from now until the end of the season, the Blue Jackets, led by Sean Monahan, will be eliminated.

If the Canadiens get one point from now until the end of the season, the Blue Jackets will have to win their last two regular-season games to overtake the Montreal club in the standings.

And if the Canadiens don’t get any points from now until the end of the season, the Blue Jackets can qualify by winning their last two games without having to do it in 60 minutes.

Let’s also recall that the Habs will face the Blackhawks tonight and the Hurricanes on Wednesday. The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, will be in Philly tomorrow and will host the Islanders on Thursday.

The Canadiens must therefore, to avoid distractions, win tonight against the Hawks. This would put an end to all the distractions and allow some guys to rest for game #82.

Losing tonight wouldn’t be good for the standings.

But most importantly, winning tonight would avoid distractions. Already, Martin St-Louis has to deal with a lot of distractions around his team with everything that’s happening in the Ivan Demidov file…

One aspect to watch is whether the Habs can break the trend of their last two games.

Because, as you know, the Habs are a team of streaks. They’ve lost their last two games… after winning six in a row… after losing five in a row.

In short, you see the picture.

The Blackhawks are a bad hockey team, but they’ll have nothing to lose. That’s why the Habs players will have to be focused on the task at hand.

We can expect to see Ivan Demidov take a place in the top-6 with Patrik Laine and Alex Newhook. And if Emil Heineman is feeling well, will he be preferred to Oliver Kapanen and Joshua Roy Michael Pezzetta as the 12th forward?

We’ll see.

If the Habs win tonight (or if the Blue Jackets lose tomorrow night), we can expect to see Jakub Dobes, Arber Xhekaj, and players who play less face the Hurricanes.

But for now, nothing is done because they need to qualify. And to qualify, the Habs will have to start by shooting at the net.

Let’s recall that if the Canadiens qualify, they’ll play the Capitals in the first round. And for a few weeks now, the Caps have forgotten how to play team hockey because of the pursuit of Alex Ovechkin’s record.

But they’re still a good hockey team. And seeing the Habs get into the habit of starting games well this week could give them a chance once they’re in the playoffs.


Overtime

– Possibility of qualifying… Ivan Demidov’s debut… game only available on Prime in English… don’t be surprised if RDS ends the night with great ratings.

– Not bad.

– Sad news.

– A good thing he’s there.

– To read.

– Logan Thompson, back in the playoffs?

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