The Canadiens are closing in on a matchup against Dominique Ducharme

Mathis Therrien
The Canadiens are closing in on a matchup against Dominique Ducharme
Credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

With their victory last night over the Colorado Avalanche, the Vegas Golden Knights have moved significantly closer to the Stanley Cup Final.

With a 2-0 lead in the series and the fact that the series now moves to Vegas, the Golden Knights now have a nearly 79% chance of reaching the finals and a 42.3% chance of winning the Stanley Cup.

So we can already imagine the Knights surprising many by eliminating the Colorado Avalanche.

And in that case, if on the other side—in the Eastern Conference Final—the Montreal Canadiens manage to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, we'll be treated to some great storylines with a CH–Knights showdown.

It's far from a done deal, especially for the Habs, but it's fun to think about.

Obviously, it would first and foremost be a rematch of the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals, which the Montreal Canadiens won in six games with that famous St. John's Day goal.

Who doesn't remember Artturi Lehkonen's goal?

 

And there's much more to a potential matchup between the Canadiens and the Golden Knights, especially behind the bench.

Indeed, the Canadiens would face their former 2021 playoff head coach, Dominique Ducharme, who is now an assistant coach for the Golden Knights.

Ducharme would face not only his former team but also his college friend, Martin St-Louis, who took his place behind the Habs' bench after his dismissal.

This would be a very interesting story, and it goes even further when you look at the Knights' head coach, John Tortorella.

St-Louis played for Tortorella and loved him during his years with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the two men still have a very strong bond.

Finally, let's not forget Mitch Marner, the current playoff scoring leader, who has a turbulent history in the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens.

In short, there would be plenty of storylines to watch if the Canadiens were to reach the Stanley Cup Final against the Golden Knights, but the same would be true against the Colorado Avalanche.

It's obviously less likely at the moment, but there would also be some great storylines in a Colorado–Montreal final, starting with a CH vs. former Quebec Nordiques matchup.

The Habs would also face two former players from the 2021 Stanley Cup Final: defenseman Brett Kulak and national hero Artturi Lehkonen.

We'd also get to see a great matchup between Lane Hutson and Cale Makar (if he's healthy), two of the best defensemen in the world.

Now let's see if the Canadiens can pull off a win in the conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes.


In Brief

– Note from the Hurricanes.

– Coming up today.

– Weird.

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