The Canadiens find themselves on the verge of clinching a playoff spot for the second straight season heading into Sunday\u2019s rematch with the New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS).<\/p>\n
The Canadiens beat the Devils 4-3<\/a> in a shootout in New Jersey Saturday night to finish a five-game road trip with a perfect 5-0 record. It was the Canadiens\u2019 eighth straight win overall and improved their record to 45-21-10 \u2014 including 23-8-8 on the road \u2014 moving them into second place in the Atlantic Division with 100 points. <\/p>\n The Canadiens are tied in points with the Buffalo Sabres (46-23-8), but have played one less game. Montreal is two points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning (48-22-6). The Sabres and Lightning both don\u2019t play on Sunday.<\/p>\n The Canadiens have reached 100 points for the first time since the 2016-17 season, when they finished first in the Atlantic Division with a 47-26-9 record for 103 points. The Canadiens lost to the New York Rangers in six games in the first round of the playoffs that year.<\/p>\n There are three ways the Canadiens could clinch a playoff spot on Sunday:<\/p>\n If they get at least one point against the Devils.<\/p>\n If the Minnesota Wild defeats the Detroit Red Wings in any fashion (regulation time, overtime or a shootout). That game starts at 1 p.m. and will be televised on SN360.<\/p>\n If the Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Ottawa Senators in any fashion. That game starts at 5 p.m. and will be televised on TSN5 and RDS2.<\/p>\n A look at the Eastern Conference standings ahead of tonight’s game between the Canadiens and New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS). Tampa Bay and Buffalo both don’t play today. #Habs<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Lk25eOlWxo<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) April 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Fans at the Bell Centre Sunday night will also be hoping to see Cole Caufield score his 50th goal<\/a> of the season. He has 49 now, including 28 in the last 28 games. No Canadiens player has scored 50 goals since St\u00e9phane Richer scored 51 in 1989-90. None of the current Canadiens players were even born when that happened, and head coach Martin St. Louis was 14.<\/p>\n Juraj Slafkovsky needs one goal to hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his four-year NHL career after being the No. 1 overall pick at the 2022 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited to get home,\u201d captain Nick Suzuki told reporters in New Jersey after Saturday\u2019s win moved the Canadiens into fifth place in the overall NHL standings. \u201cIt is pretty sweet seeing all the fans (in New Jersey) in warm-ups. I\u2019m sure tomorrow\u2019s going to be pretty crazy for us going home.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacob Fowler is expected to start in goal for the Canadiens Sunday after Jakub Dobes stopped 35 of 38 shots Saturday, improving his record to 27-8-4 with a 2.73 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. Fowler has an 8-5-2 record with a 2.55 GAA and a .904 save percentage.<\/p>\n The Canadiens have an 18-6-3 record since hiring Marco Marciano to replace Eric Raymond as goalie coach on Jan. 28. Since then Dobes has an 11-3-1 record with a 2.39 GAA and a .922 save percentage, while Jacob Fowler is 4-1-0 with a 2.41 GAA and a .909 save percentage.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like 100 points is good, but we try to get the first place and the best possible position for us to start (the playoffs) at home,\u201d Dobes told reporters in New Jersey. \u201cIt\u2019s just a number. You try to finish first. I feel like that\u2019s the main focus right now and we have an important game tomorrow.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully we will clinch tomorrow and separate and try to catch up to Carolina,\u201d Dobes added.<\/p>\n The Hurricanes hold first place in the Eastern Conference with a 49-21-6 record for 104 points.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s game is the first of four straight at home for the Canadiens. The Florida Panthers will be at the Bell Centre Tuesday night, followed by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. The Canadiens will finish the regular season with two road games against the New York Islanders next Sunday and the Philadelphia Flyers next Tuesday.<\/p>\n Suzuki has 27-68-95 totals and needs five points over the last six games to become the first Canadiens player to hit the 100-point mark since Mats Naslund had 43-67-110 totals in 1985-86. Only four players in Canadiens history have had 100-point seasons. Guy Lafleur did it six times, Pete Mahovlich twice and Steve Shutt and Naslund once.<\/p>\n Suzuki ranked seventh in the NHL in scoring heading into Sunday\u2019s game. No Canadiens player has finished a season in the top 10 in the NHL since Naslund finished eighth in 1985-86.<\/p>\n Lane Hutson heads into Sunday\u2019s game with 12-62-74 totals. He needs five assists to break Larry Robinson\u2019s team record for most assists by a defenceman in a season. Robinson had 66 assists in 1976-77 and also set a team record that season for most points by a defenceman with 85, including 19 goals.<\/p>\n scowan@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n x.com\/StuCowan1<\/a><\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n \t\t