The Montreal Canadiens are making things exciting at the Bell Centre these days. Nobody expected them to be playing meaningful hockey this time of year. The players inside the room, management, and fans believed they would be in this position. Maybe even some fans did not believe. But here we are as the Canadiens are fighting for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Despite back-to-back losses in overtime and a shootout, the Canadiens are picking up valuable points. The one on Saturday night was about resiliency down 4-1 to the Avalanche. They rallied behind goals from Juraj Slafkovsky, Joshua Roy, and Christian Dvorak and got the Bell Centre rocking. While Montreal would rather win, getting points is the most important thing this time of year.
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Considering the start to the season and the losing streak heading into Four Nations, the Canadiens find themselves in the driver’s seat heading down the stretch. Over their last 13 games coming out of Four Nations, they are 8-1-4 and one of the hottest teams in the NHL. The Canadiens are taking strides in their rebuild under Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes.
There is nothing like playoff hockey in the spring and into the summer in Montreal. No matter what people say, it is the best atmosphere during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Bell Centre is electric, and the fans make the games exciting. As the NHL looks to continue its momentum from the Four Nations Faceoff, the best thing for the league is having the Canadiens make the playoffs.
As Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period said on TSN Radio in Montreal, the game benefits the most when Original Six teams like the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs are in the playoffs.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: Expect the Montreal Canadiens to Go for Something Big at the Draft
Host: “Dave, I was talking about this a little bit earlier on, but I’m fortunate I get to go to every home game, and I love going to the Bell Centre. I love being in the building on a Saturday night. But just based on what I’ve seen the last couple of weeks, Colorado on Saturday, Florida the week before, and even Tuesday at the Bell Centre against Ottawa. Just tremendous. Hockey needs the Habs back in the playoffs.”
Dave Pagnotta: “Oh, 100%. Yeah, I mean, you talk about the teams and playoffs that make it good for the game. And the league is in a better state when teams X, Y and Z are relevant in the sense of being competitive, being playoff-bound type of clubs playing meaningful hockey. The Habs are at the top of the list. Montreal market is at the top of the list.
You throw New York in there, you throw Chicago. I mean, the Original Six markets, but Montreal leads it all. The quality of hockey that this city has seen is going back to Four Nations and into this stretch. I mean, how can you not love what’s happening here, and everything you’re seeing that game Tuesday, the one against Ottawa, when they announced, I think Josh Anderson was doing the post-game with the crowd, and revealed that they, at that point, they had clinched or not clinched, excuse me, they had jumped into a playoff position, and the crowd went bananas, and an ovation for that. That took a while.
It’s unparalleled in this sport, the type of passion that’s brought to the rink by the people that are watching this. That are paying the bucks and putting their butts in the seats. You’re bang on. Hockey needs this. Hockey wants this. And we’ll see if the Canadiens can continue this over these next three weeks.
This young Canadiens team, led by Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, is making hockey fun again in Montreal. It took some time after the run in 2021 to the Stanley Cup Final to get to this point, but they have done things the right way. Not to mention, they did not move out Jake Evans, Joel Armia, David Savard, and Dvorak. Suzuki told management he believed in this group, and now they are looking to add in the summer.
Something special is being built in Montreal with this Canadiens group. To bring home playoff games to the city of Montreal would be a cherry on top of how Martin St. Louis has handled this season as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.
The NHL wants Montreal to make the playoffs. Having the Canadiens play meaningful hockey games and be in the mix for the playoffs makes the game better as a whole.”
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