They\u2019ve already secured a bottom-10 finish this season after last night\u2019s loss, but the organization\u2019s goal looks to be maintaining their current bottom-five position in the standings.<\/p>\n
With their loss last night, the Canadiens move closer to that goal; as the odds<\/a> of finishing in the bottom five have shot up to over 50% over the last week.<\/p>\n The Canadiens also announced that David Savard<\/a>, who has been a pillar on the Canadiens\u2019 blue line down the stretch, will miss the final games of the season.<\/p>\n The veteran joins the likes of Cole Caufield<\/a>, Juraj Slafkovsky, Josh Anderson<\/a>, Arber Xhekaj, Kaiden Guhle, Christian Dvorak and Sean Monahan on the sideline to finish the year.<\/p>\n The Canadiens face the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals this week, two teams that aren\u2019t set to make the playoffs; and it\u2019ll be interesting to see if Montreal will be able to get up for those games.<\/p>\n Since their last-minute loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, something has been visibly different on the bench, with fatigue looking like it\u2019s finally set in on this depleted club.<\/p>\n Around The NHL<\/p>\n Unfortunately for the Montreal Canadiens, their immediate rivals aren\u2019t faring any better as of late.<\/p>\n The Arizona Coyotes lost back-to-back games this weekend to the Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks, and only lead the Canadiens by one point in the standings.<\/p>\n The good news is that the Coyotes still have three games against the Seattle Kraken, as well as the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks; a lighter schedule than the Canadiens.<\/p>\n The Philadelphia Flyers have created some separation thanks to their victory over\u00a0 Montreal on Tuesday, now sitting with a five-point advantage in the standings with two games in hand.<\/p>\n The Flyers finish their season against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks; which could ultimately put them out of striking distance of the Habs when all is said and done.<\/p>\n It looks like, for the second consecutive season, it will go down to the wire with the Arizona Coyotes, as the two teams finished 32nd and 31st last year respectively.<\/p>\n It was a heated race to the bottom that the Canadiens ultimately won due to a late-season slide that ensured them top odds in the 2022 NHL Draft Lottery<\/a>.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s see how it plays out this year.<\/p>\n Panthers Surging<\/p>\n After Saturday night, the Florida Panthers<\/a> finally leapfrogged the Pittsburgh Penguins and claimed the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n The Panthers\u2019 commanding 7-0 victory over Columbus, coupled with the Penguins\u2019 devastating 4-3 loss to the Bruins allowed Florida to finally get within striking distance of a playoff spot.<\/p>\n But, it\u2019s still far from over.<\/p>\n The Penguins still have a game in hand and also close out their season against the Red Wings, Blackhawks and Blue Jackets to finish the season.<\/p>\n Florida has a more demanding schedule, facing the Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes to close out the season.<\/p>\n Speaking of the Buffalo Sabres, they\u2019re still not out of this race; as they sit four points back of the Panthers with two games in hand.<\/p>\n The resurging Sabres control their destiny with a massive game against the Panthers on Tuesday night, as a victory would not only put them within serious striking distance of the final Wild Card spot, but also significantly undercut Florida\u2019s late-season push to the playoffs.<\/p>\n Things are about to get interesting.<\/p>\n \t\t \t\tMarc has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for Journal Metro, The Athletic, The … More about Marc Dumont<\/a><\/p>\n \t ![\"avatar\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768914612_830_07ba55ead0c73509df880c421e3023e5ac7c7d9f55b4c9b9a5aeeb184bcdf689.png\")
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