With 41 games now behind them, the Montreal Canadiens have officially reached the halfway point of the season, and now have 41 more games to play before they go golfing.
I say play golf, because no, I don’t see the Habs qualifying for the playoffs, even if the club is mathematically not that far from the last playoff spot.
The Tricolore won’t make the playoffs in my opinion, given that the lineup isn’t strong enough, and that’s even if we added all the important players currently injured.
Moreover, without the performances of the goalkeepers, the Habs will be much lower in the overall standings.
And as if the fact that the Tricolore doesn’t have a strong line-up wasn’t enough, it’s worth noting that for this second half of the season, Martin St-Louis’s troupe will have the 5ᵉ toughest schedule.
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As you can see from the image taken from the Tankathon website, the Habs won’t have an easy time of it for the remaining 41 games of their season.
The Habs will often face good teams, and rarely bad ones, apart from the Ottawa Senators, whom the Habs will face three times between now and the end of the season.
In short, the Habs aren’t lucky with their schedule, but in the end, it’s probably a good thing.
It would allow the Tricolore to accumulate more defeats than victories in order to, hopefully, reach the bottom of the NHL standings. At the same time, it would help the Habs grab the first overall pick.
Currently, the Habs would be drafting at 8ᵉ if the season ended now.
With the second half of the season looking tough according to the schedule, the Habs could very well climb into the top-5 worst teams in the NHL.
This would really help Kent Hughes and his team get their hands on a top-notch forward, something the Habs desperately need.
It would only take a few consecutive losses for the Habs to fall into the top-5 for the next draft.
The Columbus Blue Jackets, 28ᵉ overall, are only five points behind the Habs.
In short, all this remains to be followed closely.
The Rocket
– The Rocket in action this afternoon.
It’s game day! It’s game day!
Presented by @skipthedishes🏟️ Place Bell
⏰ 3:00 pm / 3:00 p.m.
📻 BPM Sports / TSN690
💻 https://t.co/mJw2ewPmIQ / AHLTV#GoRocket pic.twitter.com/Zm8exYiSVb– Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) January 13, 2024
– Incroyable.
The @EdmontonOilers Connor McDavid turns 27 today.
Most points in NHL History before turning 27:
Wayne Gretzky: 1606 (670 GP)
Mario Lemieux: 1014 (517 GP)
Dale Hawerchuk: 929 (713 GP)
Connor McDavid: 906 (605 GP) pic.twitter.com/s7NGwfJUDF– Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) January 13, 2024
– Read on.
If there’s one Habs player with a clear interest in the activities of the Women’s Professional Hockey League (WPHL), it’s Quebec defenseman Mike Matheson(@CanadiensMTL, @thepwhlofficial, @PWHL_Montreal) #Habs https://t.co/2FWWBFHvlv
– Benoît Rioux – Journal de Montréal (@benrioux) January 13, 2024
– File to follow.
🚨 MATÍAS CÓCCARO IN MONTREAL’S SIGHTS
According to Argentine journalist César Luis Merlo(@CLMerlo), CF Montréal has made an offer for the 26-year-old Uruguayan striker.
A first formal offer has been made to his Argentine club CA Huracán to obtain 80% of his… pic.twitter.com/3SMWCONHK2
– Nilton Jorge (@NiltonJorge) January 13, 2024
– What’s on today.
Day 1 at the Australian Open 🇦🇺
Leylah Fernandez 🇨🇦 takes on 17-year-old qualifier Sara Bejlek 🇨🇿.
Starting at 7pm on RDS2.
The only representative from 🇨🇦 on Day 1.🎤 Yvan and Hélène, 19h to 1h30 approx.
🙋🏼♂️ and Sylvain Bruneau, 1h30-7h30– François-Etienne Corbin (@fecorbinRDS) January 13, 2024