The Canadiens are halfway to the Stanley Cup

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
The Canadiens are halfway to the Stanley Cup
Credit: Joe Hrycych/Getty Images

It's done: the Canadiens have eliminated the Sabres.

Even though they finished behind the Sabres and the Lightning in the regular-season standings, the Habs managed to knock those teams out of the 2026 playoffs.

That's no small feat for a team that's just turning the corner in its rebuild. Will the series on Crave have a different name by fall 2026?

This means that right now, the Canadiens are halfway to the Stanley Cup. We're obviously not saying the road ahead will be easy (quite the opposite), but the opponents they've eliminated were tough.

To achieve its goal, the Habs will have to beat the Hurricanes as well as the winner of the Avalanche/Golden Knights series—the Western Conference finalists. #NoEasyTask

(Credit: NHL.com)

Only four teams remain in the hunt. Who knows what might happen…

Experience, rest, and the players' health are undoubtedly factors working in the Hurricanes' favor, but it's on the ice that it will all be decided.

And if guys like Jakub Dobes and Alex Newhook keep stepping up, who knows what might happen?

With seven goals scored, Newhook is tied for third in the NHL in goals during this postseason. He has two game-winning goals in Game 7s.

Will he throw his hat into the ring for the title of Most Valuable Player of the playoffs?

It's still too early to ask that question. But clearly, with a spot in the Final Four, it's becoming an increasingly legitimate question right now.


overtime

As of this writing, the Habs are on their way back to Montreal. On Wednesday, Martin St-Louis's men will head to Carolina.

And it's back to business.

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