The Canadiens have one of the easiest schedules remaining this season

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
The Canadiens have one of the easiest schedules remaining this season
Credit: Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images

There are barely two weeks left in the Canadiens' regular season. Time sure flies.

What's interesting for the Habs, who have a better than 99% chance of making the playoffs, is that their schedule isn't the toughest one around.

And that's true even though they only have games left against Eastern Conference teams.

(Credit: NHL.com)

In fact, when you look at Tankathon, you can see that the Habs have the 22nd-toughest schedule in the NHL from here on out. This is calculated based on the quality of their opponents.

In the East, only the Penguins have it easier. And Pittsburgh certainly has a good chance of staying out of the Habs' way by finishing in the top 3 of their division…

(Credit: NHL.com)

Among the “easy” opponents according to Tankathon, the Habs will face the Rangers, Panthers, and Devils (twice) between now and April 14. The other four opponents (Lightning, Blue Jackets, Islanders, and Flyers) fall into the difficult category.

The Canadiens' challenge will be to limit their opponents' shots (my colleague Maxime Truman mentioned this this morning: it's a challenge to keep in mind) and not to take them lightly.

It's not the guys' style to underestimate an opponent… but at the same time, we've never seen this core group so certain of making the playoffs with two weeks left in the regular season.

The players will have to learn to play hard despite the lack of urgency that might set in over the next few weeks. For a young team, that's a challenge.


In a nutshell

– Heads up, soccer fans.

– Ouch.

– Great news.

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