With 14 games remaining, including Thursday's game against the Florida Panthers, the Canadiens (27-35-6) are 16 points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Follow Us
The Montreal Canadiens are currently performing well this NHL season, with a record of 27-36-6 in 69 games. They’re placed in the last position in the Atlantic Division standings. With back-to-back blowout defeats on the road, the Montreal Canadiens capped off one of their worst calendar years in franchise history.
If we learned anything from the games played between Christmas and New Year’s Day, it’s that this squad, unlike many others who have been written off in the past, does not have a Cinderella second-half run in them. No, this club is in over its head and cannot compete with the elite Eastern Conference teams.
In 2022, the Canadiens played 85 games and finished 30-45-10. That.412 points percentage was higher than four other clubs, but it demonstrates how distant the Habs are from contending right now.
Even in one of their worst calendar years, there were some bright spots. There are always some. The next season does not promise to be one of the Canadiens’ greatest, but it should be an improvement over the previous one.
Although the squad is only marginally better on the ice, there are other reasons to be optimistic. While the Montreal Canadiens will not compete in the playoffs in 2023, there are still many things to look forward to in this calendar year.
Christian Dvorak will miss the remainder of the season for the Montreal Canadiens after undergoing knee surgery on Wednesday. The forward is projected to be ready before the 2023-24 season begins. Dvorak has not played since suffering a lower-body injury on March 7 in Montreal’s 4-3 shootout defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes.
With 14 games remaining, including Thursday’s game against the Florida Panthers, the Canadiens (27-35-6) are 16 points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Because the Canadiens only had 11 healthy forwards, they recalled Anthony Richard from the Laval Rocket to replace Dvorak.
READ MORE: NHL News Roundup ft Kirill Kaprizov, Philadelphia Flyers, and David Quinn
Jordan Harris will miss his fourth game in a row. The extent of the 22-year-injury old’s is unknown at this moment, so it’s unclear whether he’ll be ready to play against the Panthers on Thursday. Guhle will return to the lineup tonight due to Harris’ injury and the lack of a call-up before today’s game.
During his first season, the 22-year-old has 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 60 games. Harris just signed a two-year contract extension for $2.8 million, with an average annual value (AAV) of $1.4 million.
The Canadiens selected the Haverhill, Massachusetts native 71st overall in the 2018 NHL Draft. Harris was drafted by the Kimball Union Academy of the United States High School-Prep League after playing high school hockey; he also had a brief five-game stay with the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League (USHL).
The Montreal Canadiens are struggling as they continue their dreadful season. They have only won two of their previous ten games and are coming off a devastating 9-5 loss to the Florida Panthers. The Canadiens allowed seven goals in the first period alone, setting a club record for the Panthers. Montreal was clearly outmatched and swamped all night, and the Bolts will attempt to keep the pressure on here tonight. Jordan Harris and Joel Armia will be out as they are listed out for day-to-day.
All the injured Candaniens players are Jake Evans who is expected to be out until at least Mar 18. Paul Byron, Sean Monahan till March 21. Brendan Gallagher is expected to be out until at least Mar 30. Kirby Dach is expected to be out until at least Mar 23. Cole Caufield will miss the season as he is expected to be out until at least Sep 15. Carey Price is expected to be out until at least Jul 1. And Finally, Juraj Slafkovsky as well is expected to be out until at least Apr 18.
Get the latest from Sportslumo.com by following us on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube
