The hockey blabosphere has not yet caught up with the reality, but the 2025-26 Canadiens are not simply closing in on a playoff spot with nine games to play. They\u2019re a good team now, not a good team two or three or five years down the road.<\/p>\n
While everyone is fixated on how the Habs are too small, too inexperienced or not sufficiently tough for the post-season, they\u2019re winning the kind of games you have to play in April, May and even June.<\/p>\n
![\"Carolina](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0330-hidden-game-2.jpg\")
Carolina Hurricanes\u2019 Jackson Blake shoots the puck off Montreal Canadiens\u2019 Lane Hutson and wide of goaltender Jakub Dobes during the first period in Raleigh, N.C., on Sunday. Karl DeBlaker \/ AP<\/p>\n
Not big enough, you say? Horse patootie. Some of those big teams aren\u2019t fast enough. If size intimidates, so does speed.<\/p>\n
Whatever you think of this buoyant young Canadiens team, you\u2019d best write it in pencil because you\u2019re going to be revising it tomorrow. They are maturing almost by the hour, so whatever was true of them on that California trip no longer applies, and what is true now will be irrelevant when the regular season ends on April 14.<\/p>\n
As of this Monday morning, St. Louis\u2019s charges are exactly where I thought they would be on March 30, 2028. They have 42 wins (11 more than the Maple Leafs) and 94 points. Over the last 21 games, they\u2019re 14-4-3.<\/p>\n
Since back-to-back losses at home to the Sharks and Ducks in mid-March, they have won six out of seven games, all against teams in the playoff mix. Every night is a test, every night they pass.<\/p>\n
What does it all mean? Moneypuck<\/a>.com<\/a> says the Habs now have a 98.9 per cent chance of making the playoffs, a 39.8 per cent chance of making the second round, 17.2 per cent for the third round. That, too, will change by the hour.<\/p>\n The key is to understand that the overall record does not match the team we see on the ice. It began with Dobes doing pretty much what Jaro Halak did in 2010 \u2014 leading them to the playoffs. The first half of the season, they had injuries and struggling goalies. The second half is about a healthy team with Dobes and fellow rookie Jacob Fowler playing like seasoned veterans.<\/p>\n All of this is observation, not a prediction. That comes later. There is not a team in the Eastern Conference the Canadiens can\u2019t beat. That doesn\u2019t mean they will, only that the potential is clearly there.<\/p>\n Yes, they might make the playoffs and get swept in the first round. It happens. That\u2019s not how I see it. This is now. They\u2019re healthy.<\/p>\n Look out.<\/p>\n Heroes: Jakub Dobes, Jaroslav Halak, Cole Caufield, Ivan Demidov, Catherine Dubois, Laura Stacey, Ann-Ren\u00e9e Desbiens, Tajon Buchanan, Jonathan David, Reece Howden, Mika\u00ebl Kingsbury &&&& last but not least, Nick Suzuki.<\/p>\n Zeros: Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk, Tiger Woods, Paul George, Michael Rousseau, P.K. Subban, Wayne Gretzky, the Blue Jays, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least, Jeffrey Loria.<\/p>\n Now and forever.<\/p>\n