Jan 31 Will the Canadiens Make the Playoffs?

As the NHL regular season begins to round the corner and head into the final stretch towards the playoffs, the biggest question facing Habs fans is whether or not the team will make the playoffs and once again open the possibility for a dramatic run not unlike last spring's unforgettable Cinderella story. It's a question that's become quite familiar to us over the last several years as parity has turned our once perennial Stanley Cup contender into a "bubble team" annually fighting tooth and nail just to get in. The notable exception was the '07-'08 season where the Canadiens came out of nowhere to finish first in the Eastern Conference with an impressive 104 points. Barring a big run by the Habs and an unlikely drop-off by several other teams in the standings, it doesn't appear the top spot is up for grabs. Instead, it looks as if we'll be scoreboard watching as the season winds down with cities like New York, Buffalo, Carolina and Atlanta drawing most of our attention.

The way things shake out right now, the Habs are in good shape. They sit in 7th position with 59 points and 32 games remaining. The Thrashers sit right behind them in 8th place and 57 points but have played two more games than our Habs. The Rangers, having also played two more games than Montreal, are two points up and very much within striking distance. Carolina and Buffalo have both played good hockey lately but currently remain on the outside looking in.

If the Habs were to maintain their current pace, they'd end up with 97 points, a number that should be good enough to make the playoffs if recent history is any indication. Last year, it took the Habs only 88 points to nab the 8th spot and over the last eight years, any team that has gotten at least 94 points have made their way into the dance.

Now it's all well and good to assume the Habs will maintain their current pace but as we all know, there's a reason they play the games. Over the final 32 games, the Habs will play Carolina, New York, Atlanta and Buffalo twice each giving 25% of their final games serious playoff implications. Needless to say, the intensity in each of those games with be ramped up. Whether the Canadiens can match that intensity will remain to be seen.

The month of February will be a great opportunity for the Canadiens to solidify their playoff positioning. They play a total of 13 games, eight of which are at home. Nine of those games are against opponents currently out of the playoffs giving the Habs a great opportunity to give themselves some breathing room. There is that western road trip on tap through Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver where the Habs traditionally don't do well but Calgary and Edmonton are teams that the Canadiens should be able to beat if they are the team most of us think they are.

What teams do between now and the February 28th trade deadline will also go a long way in dictating the fate that awaits the Habs. Will Pierre Gauthier be a mover and shaker or will he stand pat? If he stands pat, it's a mistake. Already without their two best defensemen for the rest of the season, the team appears to be getting more and more banged up as each game passes. Gauthier's priority should be to add a defenseman first and foremost capable of playing upwards of 20 minutes a game and ideally, be effective on the power play. I fear the condition Jaroslav Spacek, Hal Gill and Roman Hamrlik will be in even a month from now let alone in April when the playoffs finally roll around. You also have two rookie defenseman who are lineup regulars, something that's an undesirable option for any team hoping to make a Cup run. While it's less of a priority, the Habs could also use another top six forward and a checking centre. While he's performed well thus far, David Desharnais is not a checking centre and would be a liability in that role in the playoffs. Jeff Halpern has done reasonably well thus far but is an aging veteran currently banged up as well.

My belief is that the Canadiens will indeed make the playoffs, provided Gauthier makes a move to improve the team at least somewhat. They seem to always find a way to do so and as we learned in the spring, once you get in, literally anything can happen.

About Will Martinez

Will Martinez runs the 'Hey, My Name is Will' blog and is a contributor for TheFranchise.ca. You can follow Will on Twitter @heymynameiswill

Tags: habs \ Montreal Canadiens \ playoffs \ Stanley Cup

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