With their two losses against the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks this weekend, the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] have put themselves in quite a pickle. They are still third in the Atlantic with 82 points, but now, the Boston Bruins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins], who are in the first wildcard spot, are catching up. They now sit just one points behind the Habs, while the Detroit Red Wings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings], who are in the second wild card spot, also have 80 points, but they’ve played more games. This week, the Canadiens will be facing the Bruins in Montreal on Tuesday night and the Red Wings in Detroit on Thursday night. Needless to say, those games will be do-or-die affairs. Montreal absolutely cannot afford another debacle against divisional rivals. Back in January, the Habs lost three of four games to divisional rivals over two weeks, and that had serious repercussions for the standings. Canadiens: Fail To Manage Risk And Drop Two Big Points [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-fail-to-manage-risk-and-drop-two-big-points] Canadiens Top Prospect Comes Up Big [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-top-prospect-comes-up-big] Canadiens: Mister Saturday Night Sets New Career High [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-mister-saturday-night-sets-new-career-high] Given how the Canadiens have played since returning from the Olympic break, it’s hard to believe that they will be able to take care of business. Thankfully for Martin St-Louis and his men, the two teams don’t exactly have great records over their last 10 games. Still, if the Canadiens put on the same display we’ve witnessed on defence over the weekend, it will be hard for them to come away with the much-needed four points. While Jacob Fowler has already shown that he can have a great impact, even he cannot stop everything when the defence is hemorrhaging scoring chances. With the Canadiens having a day off on Monday and a simple morning skate on Tuesday, it’s hard to imagine that many adjustments will have been made. For a long while, it looked like the Canadiens would easily qualify for the postseason, but with their recent performances, they are letting other teams catch up, including the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are currently ninth in the conference and only three points behind the Habs. If this doesn’t give you a sense of déjà vu, I don’t know what will. It’s time for the Canadiens to buckle up and get to work the right way, before they fall out of playoff contention. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Image [https://cdn.ramp-assets.playwire.com/1025444/76033/house_ads/file-1762367418209.jpg] Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News. Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I].
