There are streaks and there are streaks. Winning eight straight in October or January is not the same as winning in late March and April. Not only did the youngest team in the league come together to win eight straight, they also won five in a row on the road in the suffocating pressure of a playoff race.<\/p>\n
![\"Canadiens](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0407-spt-col-todd-1.jpg\")
Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson high-sticks New Jersey Devils winger Connor Brown during second period in Montreal on Sunday. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
On Sunday afternoon before the streak ended, the Canadiens learned that Detroit\u2019s loss meant they had clinched a playoff spot.<\/a> They could have been forgiven if they chose to warm up with a couple of dozen bottles of Dom Perignon\u2019s finest.<\/p>\n Instead, they battled. They played defence, they hit. But the firecracker offence that has carried this team through much of the season had lost its oomph. When the legs go, the head will follow.<\/p>\n It was predictable. They were playing their sixth game in nine days. Eight games and 16 points earlier, they were on the upper edge of the playoff bubble. It appeared the race would go down to the final game of the season.<\/p>\n Then they hit the afterburners and soared from 84 points to a cool 100 with a demonstration of how to win when it matters most, with timely scoring, great goaltending, structured defence and sheer junkyard dog determination.<\/p>\n Now it\u2019s all about positioning and preparation for the playoffs. Quit forcing the play to Caufield and the 50th will come naturally \u2014 and more. Try to win the division, don\u2019t worry if you can\u2019t.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re one of the fans going sour on this team because of one loss, recall the history. In April 2022, the Canadiens finished the season with 55 points. Four years later, they\u2019re not far from doubling that total.<\/p>\n A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that there is no clear ceiling for this team.<\/a> Ignore the \u201ctoo small, too inexperienced\u201d codswallop. That\u2019s like Chris Pronger bleating that Hutson has to quit running around out there, simply an indication that Pronger doesn\u2019t understand how the game has evolved.<\/p>\n Pronger\u2019s career high was 62 points. Hutson had 66 as a rookie and he\u2019s at 74 points this season with five games to play. By now, we know Hutson\u2019s game \u2014 he would make the Energizer Bunny plead for mercy. All he needs is a little time to catch his breath and the shimmy will be back in his shake.<\/p>\n Sooner or later, this team will put together multiple long playoff runs. Maybe starting this year, maybe next or the year after. But this was a statement streak. It was the Canadiens as a club, saying to the league: \u201cYou say we\u2019re too young. You say we\u2019re too small. Okay. Let\u2019s see if you can catch us.\u201d<\/p>\n Say it ain\u2019t so: At 60, Patrick Roy has the same unruly hair, the same expression of a kid who spends more time in the principal\u2019s office than in class.<\/p>\n Sadly, it\u2019s also the expression of a guy who is out of a job.<\/a><\/p>\n I hate this firing and not only because I have a soft spot for St. Patrick. I\u2019m deeply disappointed in Mathieu Darche. Coach firings late in a season are weak. They smack of desperation, of a GM who has overestimated the talent he has and decides to make the coach the scapegoat.<\/p>\n Yes, Darche clearly wanted the much-recycled Peter DeBoer because he had a four-year deal ready and waiting. So it goes. Around and around.<\/p>\n I ceased to be a fan of coach firings when Bob Gainey was running the Habs. Gainey couldn\u2019t help himself. He fired everyone in sight, even his friends. He fired Guy Carbonneau, arguably the best coach between Pat Burns and Martin St. Louis, because he and Carbo didn\u2019t agree on how soon Carey Price was ready to take over.<\/p>\n It\u2019s shabby. The fact that the average tenure for a head coach in the NHL is 2.45 years is ludicrous. You build good teams on stability and long-term vision, not on revolving doors.<\/p>\n In fact, I can tell you precisely how it\u2019s done. Hire Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes, Martin St. Louis and Nick Bobrov \u2014 and get out of the way.<\/p>\n Heroes: Martin St. Louis, Jakub Dobes, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen, Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson, Josh Anderson, Joe Veleno, Kaitlin Willoughby, Sandra Abstreiter, Abby Roque, Vic Rauter, Erling Haaland, Patrick Roy &&&& last but not least, Cole Caufield.<\/p>\n Zeros: Clueless Keith Pelley, MLSE, the Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews, Mathieu Darche, Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk, Jack Eichel, the Azzurri, Geno Auriemma, Wayne Gretzky, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu &&&& last but not least, David Samson and Jeffrey Loria.<\/p>\n Now and forever.<\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0407-spt-col-todd.jpg\")
New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy shouts instructions to Emil Heineman during first period in Montreal on Feb. 26. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n