Long live Les Habitants
Is Montreal Cup bound, or will they have to wait until next year? The answer could come in the regular season oddly enough.
In a season filled with so much potential, the Montreal Canadians are fulfilling that potential - and yet they still might be watching the playoffs from their living rooms.
Such is the fate of Eastern Conference teams this year, where a pack of 15 teams was almost immediately reduced to nine, all fighting hard for a playoff spot.
Nine teams have a winning percentage of .620 or higher, including the Canadians, with eight of those teams actually at .660 or higher. Of note, only two teams in the Western Conference -the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames- even have winning percentages high enough to crack the top eight in the East.
So, while on one hand Montreal fans must be proud of their teams success, the other hand is to busy seeing its nails getting chewed down to nothing as this game of musical chairs will eventually end with one team sitting out the playoffs looking in.
Right now that one team is the Pittsburgh Penguins, who despite a record of 30-14-6, sit ninth in the conference. Montreal sits eighth, but is tied with Pittsburgh and in fact the only thing giving Montreal the edge right now is the fact they have one more regulation win than the Penguins.
Complicating matters are the Winnipeg Jets and Tampa Bay Lightning. Both teams figured to be in tough to make the playoffs this year, yet not only is one of those teams virtually guaranteed a spot, theya re both hanging around with the powers of the Eastern Conference. At one point, the Lightning led the entire conference for a healthy stretch of time.
"With the way we've been playing, we shouldn't have to worry about making the playoffs, but here we are," said Canadians netminder Jonathan Quick. "We're working hard to stay with the pack, but it's tough when you win a game then look up at the scoreboard and see everyone else did too."
It's been the Jonathan Quick highlight reel show in Montreal this year.
This wouldn't be a problem in the Western Conference. If Montreal was in the West, they'd have a hold of third spot in the conference and a likely home playoff seed for the opening round.
Sitting seventh in goals for and second in goals against, the Canadiens have rattled off a strong resume for a playoff berth. Possessing the league's best penalty killing unit at 89.04 per cent isn't hurting matters either.
"There's still time to spereate ourselves a bit more here," noted forward Brenden Morrow, a mid-season acquisition from the Colorado Avalanche. "We have 32 games left on the schedule and if we keep winning, we'll be ok. But we have to keep winning."
Brenden Morrow hasn't been able to light it up the way Montreal had hoped after he came over from Colorado.
To do so, Montreal would benefit from a scoring boost from morrow. Brought in to help anchor the second line, Morrow has amassed just 11 points in 31 games so far as a Canadians player.
That seems to be the lone problem for Montreal though, and the all-star caliber netminding from Quick has made their games easier. Already sporting a 29-12-6 record, Quick also holds a .906 save percentage, third best in the league.
While Montreal may appear to not need any moves to be made, they are rumoured to be shopping defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, whose hefty $6.5 million salry makes him a large burden on the salary cap. Whether Montreal can find a taker is another issue.
Is Montreal really trying to move Christian Ehrhoff?
In the meantime, trades or not, Montreal is in great position to make a meaningful cup run in Le Belle Province for the first time in yeas. Only question left to answer is, can they make the playoffs in the first place?
Is Montreal Cup bound, or will they have to wait until next year? The answer could come in the regular season oddly enough.
In a season filled with so much potential, the Montreal Canadians are fulfilling that potential - and yet they still might be watching the playoffs from their living rooms.
Such is the fate of Eastern Conference teams this year, where a pack of 15 teams was almost immediately reduced to nine, all fighting hard for a playoff spot.
Nine teams have a winning percentage of .620 or higher, including the Canadians, with eight of those teams actually at .660 or higher. Of note, only two teams in the Western Conference -the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames- even have winning percentages high enough to crack the top eight in the East.
So, while on one hand Montreal fans must be proud of their teams success, the other hand is to busy seeing its nails getting chewed down to nothing as this game of musical chairs will eventually end with one team sitting out the playoffs looking in.
Right now that one team is the Pittsburgh Penguins, who despite a record of 30-14-6, sit ninth in the conference. Montreal sits eighth, but is tied with Pittsburgh and in fact the only thing giving Montreal the edge right now is the fact they have one more regulation win than the Penguins.
Complicating matters are the Winnipeg Jets and Tampa Bay Lightning. Both teams figured to be in tough to make the playoffs this year, yet not only is one of those teams virtually guaranteed a spot, theya re both hanging around with the powers of the Eastern Conference. At one point, the Lightning led the entire conference for a healthy stretch of time.
"With the way we've been playing, we shouldn't have to worry about making the playoffs, but here we are," said Canadians netminder Jonathan Quick. "We're working hard to stay with the pack, but it's tough when you win a game then look up at the scoreboard and see everyone else did too."
It's been the Jonathan Quick highlight reel show in Montreal this year.
This wouldn't be a problem in the Western Conference. If Montreal was in the West, they'd have a hold of third spot in the conference and a likely home playoff seed for the opening round.
Sitting seventh in goals for and second in goals against, the Canadiens have rattled off a strong resume for a playoff berth. Possessing the league's best penalty killing unit at 89.04 per cent isn't hurting matters either.
"There's still time to spereate ourselves a bit more here," noted forward Brenden Morrow, a mid-season acquisition from the Colorado Avalanche. "We have 32 games left on the schedule and if we keep winning, we'll be ok. But we have to keep winning."
Brenden Morrow hasn't been able to light it up the way Montreal had hoped after he came over from Colorado.
To do so, Montreal would benefit from a scoring boost from morrow. Brought in to help anchor the second line, Morrow has amassed just 11 points in 31 games so far as a Canadians player.
That seems to be the lone problem for Montreal though, and the all-star caliber netminding from Quick has made their games easier. Already sporting a 29-12-6 record, Quick also holds a .906 save percentage, third best in the league.
While Montreal may appear to not need any moves to be made, they are rumoured to be shopping defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, whose hefty $6.5 million salry makes him a large burden on the salary cap. Whether Montreal can find a taker is another issue.
Is Montreal really trying to move Christian Ehrhoff?
In the meantime, trades or not, Montreal is in great position to make a meaningful cup run in Le Belle Province for the first time in yeas. Only question left to answer is, can they make the playoffs in the first place?
