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The Canadiens played their 82nd regular-season game last night.
Did the team play well? No. It was a bit messy, let's be honest. Especially when you consider that the Flyers weren't at full strength.
Clearly, playing without Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson hurt the team—and Jakub Dobes, who gave up four goals after giving up five against the Blue Jackets last Saturday.
This allowed the Lightning to secure a home game this weekend.
But does that mean the Habs have done poorly this season? It would be dishonest to say that about a team that finished sixth overall in the NHL. Not bad, huh?
When you look at that standings, you realize just how absurd the imbalance between the East and the West is. It's crazy how, aside from the three Western powerhouses (Avalanche, Stars, and Wild), the East is the stronger conference.
For example?
- The Atlantic Division has more teams in the top 8 than the West has in the top 12.
- The Capitals (eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoff race) will finish ahead of the Golden Knights, who could clinch their division title soon, in the overall standings.
The fact that the Habs managed to rack up so many points while playing more often against Eastern Conference teams shows that the team is good, even at this stage of its rebuild.
It remains to be seen if they'll be just as good in the playoffs…
Speaking of the playoffs: we see that two of the league's top six teams (Lightning and Canadiens) will face off in the first round, which calls into question—once again—the current format. Wild vs. Stars will be just as intense…
Ah, and to wrap up on the standings: only three teams in the NHL's top 25 are Canadiens. That's intense.
In a nutshell
– Ouch.
He explained himself after the game. https://t.co/Ehrpft2T1k
— Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) April 15, 2026
– A story to watch.
Greg Wyshynski: I think the situation with [Sergei Bobrovsky] and Florida is pretty bad; I've heard there is a significant gap in what he's looking for and what they're willing to give him, and I have a feeling that they're going to go in a different direction now – The Sheet (4/14)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) April 15, 2026
– Read this.
NEW for @TheAthletic
, my sitdown with Stars GM Jim Nill, where we discuss:
_ the timing of his extension announcement (hint, Toronto);
_ his 13 years as GM in Dallas and the unfinished business that drives him;
_ the playoff format;
_ A banger of a series coming up with the Wild;…— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 15, 2026
