According to NHL odds, the CH has only a 9% chance of winning its division

Marc-Olivier Cook
According to NHL odds, the CH has only a 9% chance of winning its division
Credit: Reuben Polansky-Shapiro/NHLI via Getty Images

The Canadiens are on a roll.

The Montreal team won its sixth straight game last night: that bodes well for the playoffs, which will begin in the coming weeks.

And as my colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois mentioned in an article earlier this morning, the top spot in the Atlantic Division is more realistic than ever for the Habs.

But it's far from a done deal because there's still plenty of hockey left to play. The Canadiens are four points behind the Sabres and the top spot in the division… while the Lightning, for their part, are two points ahead of the Habs in second place in the Atlantic.

All this to say that it's really tight right now. But which of the Sabres, the Lightning, or the Habs will finish at the very top of the division at the end of the season?

According to NHL odds, the Habs have only a 9% chance of winning their division. The Sabres are at 43%, and the Lightning lead the way at 48%.

What could help the Habs is that the team has one of the easiest schedules in the NHL for the remainder of the season.

By comparison, the Lightning has the 6th-toughest schedule in the league… and the Sabres have the 15th-toughest schedule in the league through the end of the season.

The Canadiens will therefore have a great opportunity to overtake their rivals in the standings.

There will be important games ahead for Martin St-Louis's men, and that's obvious… but at the same time, it's also fair to say that it's quite achievable. And if the team continues to play the way it has over the past two weeks, that will really help.

After all, the Habs are clearly one of the most dangerous teams in the NHL right now… and it's no coincidence that they're currently ranked 6th in the Bettman League's overall standings.

But again, at the risk of repeating myself, there's still hockey to be played.

It's not over until it's over… right? 


In a nutshell

– Well done.

– Interesting.

– Well.

– What a play!

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!