The Canadiens are the last Canadian team still in the running

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
The Canadiens are the last Canadian team still in the running
Credit: Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images

It hasn't been a great year for hockey in Canada, has it?

After watching the men's and women's teams lose to the United States in the gold medal games at the Olympics, now six out of seven Canadian teams in the NHL are out of the playoffs.

The Canucks, Maple Leafs, Jets, and Flames didn't have a good season… and the Oilers have just joined the Senators among the teams eliminated in the first round.

Connor McDavid, who isn't exactly happy with how his team is built, didn't step up in the series against the Anaheim Ducks. Especially defensively… #HorribleDifferential

Naturally, this is one reason why the Oilers are confirming to the hockey world that the Stanley Cup Final will be 100% different from the one in 2024 or 2025. It's not all the coach's or the goalie's fault.

And in all of this, there's still the Montreal Canadiens.

Of course, it's possible that the Lightning could win their next two games and that Canada won't be represented at all in the second round of the playoffs. It's possible.

But right now, the reality is clear: if Canada wants to bring the Stanley Cup home for the first time in 33 years, it will have to go through the last Canadian team to win it all, back in 1993.

Of course, before thinking about that, they have to make it to the second round. “New teams” did it yesterday, and Nick Suzuki's team could do it tonight, in turn.

In fact, as early as tonight, we could find out who the Canadiens will face in the second round. If the CH and the Sabres win, they'll face off in the second round.

Otherwise, we'll have to wait until Sunday to see the results of one or two Game 7s.

If the Canadiens are heading to Buffalo (where the Canadian national anthem is already played at every game), don't expect the series to start on Sunday, even if both teams win tonight. Renaud Lavoie (BPM Sports) discussed this this morning.

So could it go to Tuesday? Possibly, but nothing is set in stone.


In a nutshell

– That's crazy.

– Things could get heated.

– I agree.

– That's true.

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