Still in their rebuilding phase, the 2023-24 Montreal Canadiens don’t exactly seem like a playoff team. But they’re closer to punching a ticket to the postseason than you might think.
With a record of 14-13-4, the Canadiens are currently sixth in the NHL’s Atlantic Division with 32 points on the year.
That may not sound great, but upon closer inspection we can see how tight of a race they’re in, trailing the fifth-place Detroit Red Wings by one point and the fourth-place Tampa Bay Lightning, who have two games in hand, by three.
If they don’t manage to surpass their rivals, the Habs’ chances of staying put are also good, considering the Buffalo Sabres have logged 29 points in 33 games, and the Ottawa Senators sit comfortably in last with 22 points over 27 games.
So what will it take to make the playoffs?
Considering the standing in the Metropolitan Division, Montreal currently find themselves two points behind the Washington Capitals for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
With that said, The Pittsburgh Penguins, who recently bested Montreal in a shootout, are right behind the Canadiens with 31 points in 30 games.
While it’s never safe to assume, one could certainly speculate that had star forward Kirby Dach not gone down with a season-ending injury in Game 2 of the ongoing campaign that the Canadiens would be in an even better spot going into the new year. And along with Dach, the Canadiens have also been missing the likes of Alex Newhook, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Jordan Harris, and David Savard (up until recently).
With that said, they’re not the only team to have caught the injury bug, and good teams always find a way.
But despite being right there in the thick of it, oddsmakers have not given the Habs the benefit of the doubt just yet.
As of now, MoneyPuck has determined that Montreal only have a 7.4% chance of making the playoffs this year — the seventh-worst odds in the league.
While we won’t get our hopes up, we’ve all seen what happens when experts doubt Montreal’s postseason potential…
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