Canadiens are on verge of clinching playoff spot Sunday
The Canadiens find themselves on the verge of clinching a playoff spot for the second straight season heading into Sunday’s rematch with the New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS).
The Canadiens beat the Devils 4-3 in a shootout in New Jersey Saturday night to finish a five-game road trip with a perfect 5-0 record. It was the Canadiens’ eighth straight win overall and improved their record to 45-21-10 — including 23-8-8 on the road — moving them into second place in the Atlantic Division with 100 points.
The Canadiens are tied in points with the Buffalo Sabres (46-23-8), but have played one less game. Montreal is two points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning (48-22-6). The Sabres and Lightning both don’t play on Sunday.
The Canadiens have reached 100 points for the first time since the 2016-17 season, when they finished first in the Atlantic Division with a 47-26-9 record for 103 points. The Canadiens lost to the New York Rangers in six games in the first round of the playoffs that year.
There are three ways the Canadiens could clinch a playoff spot for the second straight season on Sunday:
- If they get at least one point against the Devils.
- If the Minnesota Wild defeats the Detroit Red Wings in any fashion (regulation time, overtime or a shootout). That game starts at 1 p.m. and will be televised on SN360.
- If the Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Ottawa Senators in any fashion. That game starts at 5 p.m. and will be televised on TSN5 and RDS2.
Fans at the Bell Centre Sunday night will also be hoping to see Cole Caufield score his 50th goal of the season. He has 49 now. No Canadiens player has scored 50 goals since Stéphane Richer scored 51 in 1989-90. None of the current Canadiens players were even born when that happened, and head coach Martin St. Louis was 14.
Juraj Slafkovsky also needs one goal to hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his four-year NHL career after being the No. 1 overall pick at the 2022 NHL Draft.
“I’m excited to get home,” captain Nick Suzuki told reporters in New Jersey after Saturday’s win moved the Canadiens into fifth place in the overall NHL standings. “It is pretty sweet seeing all the fans (in New Jersey) in warm-ups. I’m sure tomorrow’s going to be pretty crazy for us going home.”
Jacob Fowler is expected to start in goal for the Canadiens Sunday after Jakub Dobes stopped 35 of 38 shots Saturday, improving his record to 27-8-4 with a 2.73 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. Fowler has an 8-5-2 record with a 2.55 GAA and a .904 save percentage.
“I feel like 100 points is good, but we try to get the first place and the best possible position for us to start (the playoffs) at home,” Dobes told reporters in New Jersey. “It’s just a number. You try to finish first. I feel like that’s the main focus right now and we have an important game tomorrow.
“Hopefully we will clinch tomorrow and separate and try to catch up to Carolina,” Dobes added.
Editor’s Picks
The Hurricanes hold first place in the Eastern Conference with a 49-21-6 record for 104 points.
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