Photo credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
The Montreal Canadiens’ victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning is paying off in a big way.
Thanks to several rivals losing, last night all but officially secured a playoff spot for the Habs!
Last night, the New York Islanders and the Ottawa Senators dropped valuable points in the overall standings.
The Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings also went down in what turned out to be an almost perfect night for Montreal.
The Columbus Blue Jackets’ loss further reinforced this excellent day for Martin St-Louis’ group.
Montreal is now up 10 points on the ninth-place team with just nine games remaining, effectively putting them in full control of their playoff position.
Only the Boston Bruins managed to come away with a win among the closely monitored competitors.
Winning in regulation against a team like the Tampa Bay Lightning remains the main accomplishment, but those losses by other Eastern teams are a very welcome bonus.
On top of that, avoiding overtime denies a division rival a crucial point in this late-season race.
Those two points carry tremendous value in the famous end-of-season sprint.
The Montreal Canadiens now have a 99.92% chance of making the NHL playoffs
Players within the organization appear to be in control of their own destiny on the ice, with a real opportunity to even capture the division title!
The atmosphere at the Bell Centre is likely to be incredible in the coming games, because the players deserve it and everything is going well right now!
Yes, it smells like NHL playoff hockey in Montreal!
It sets the stage nicely for the rest of the National Hockey League regular season!
Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics