The Montreal Canadiens are involved in a race for first place in the Atlantic Division with the Buffalo Sabres and the Tampa Bay Lightning, and it promises to give us a thrilling finish to the NHL season, along with the playoff race, of course.
The Montreal Canadiens have one game left to play, and they could still finish in first place in the Atlantic Division if they win their last game and the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres both lose their last two games. That’s much easier said than done, however.
Why? Because the Canadiens’ last game will be against the Philadelphia Flyers, a side that, even though in their place in the Metropolitan Division, has yet to book its place in the playoffs and will be desperate for the win. Unless, of course, the Flyers can triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes tonight and punch their ticket to the spring dance. Then, Philadelphia would have nothing left to play for, as they cannot get home ice advantage since they cannot catch up to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are four points ahead and own the tiebreaker.
When Montreal and Philadelphia play on Tuesday, the other two teams vying for the Flyers’ place will be taking on each other, meaning that either the Columbus Blue Jackets will have 94 points (and with more regulation wins, they would pass Philadelphia) or the Washington Capitals will have 95 points and overtake the Flyers outright if the Canadiens’ hosts can’t muster two points in their last two games (Ovechkin and co. also have more regulation wins than Philadelphia).
Meanwhile, the Canadiens’ rivals won’t face great opposition. The Sabres' last two games will be on Monday night, against the Chicago Blackhawks, who have been eliminated for some time, and on Wednesday night against the Dallas Stars. While the Stars will be taking part in the race for Lord Stanley’s mug, they have nothing left to play for. They cannot catch the Colorado Avalanche, and they’ve already clinched home-ice advantage. Meaning they may well decide to rest some of their key players.
As for the Lightning, they have a date with the already eliminated Detroit Red Wings on Monday night, a side that has lost seven of its last 10 games. Since the game is in Tampa, they won’t even have the pressure to give their fans one last good game, which they’ve already failed to do, losing 5-3 to the New Jersey Devils in their last home game. Then, on Wednesday night, the Bolts will host the New York Rangers, a team eliminated some time ago and which has lost its last two games.
In other words, unless the Flyers win tonight, the playoff race will go down to the wire in the East, and the race to first place between the Habs, Bolts and Sabres won’t be settled until the end either.
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