La Suite: Canadiens Return to Playoffs with Expectations

Last year, there were three playoff berths that truly shocked the hockey world: the Ottawa Senators, the St. Louis Blues, and the Montréal Canadiens. The Sens were ruined by that Matt Duchene deal in 2017, and the Blues crashed and burned after winning the Stanley Cup in 2019, but they both got in. As for the Canadiens, they had a 2021 run to remember. Not expected to win a single game in that year's playoffs, Les Habitants won thirteen of them; falling just three wins shy of the Stanley Cup.

After that magical year, though, the Habs hit rock bottom, and it looked like they would stay there for a long while. However, a funny thing happened last year: the Habs went on a winning tear at the right time. At close to the very end of the season, the Canadiens took the last remaining playoff spot, but their run wasn't a long one--a five-game loss in Round 1. The Canadiens, IMO, were happy to be there, and I don't blame them.

But could they do it again? Could they actually make it back. The answer: a simple oui.

The Canadiens tore it up this season, winning games left and right. In fact, they are currently on an eight game winning streak that gave them the chance to clinch a playoff spot before taking the ice on Sunday. They needed one point, or a loss from either the Red Wings or Senators. The Wings started this day at home against the Minnesota Wild, and in that contest, the Wild fought off a Detroit comeback to win it 5-4, and that Wings loss sent the Canadiens to Le Doux Seize (The Sweet Sixteen).

This guy is a beast. I remember the hype surrounding Cole Caufield during that COVID-shortened 2021 season, especially during Montréal's wild run to the Cup Final that year. I never thought he'd be, well, this. 49 goals this season. Forty-nine! Quarante-neuf! Only my boy Nathan MacKinnon has more this season. And that number is so high because Caufield tends to score most of his goals on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturdays! Despite that high number of goals, Caufield's not the points leader for the Habs this season. While Caufield's 85 points are amazing, it's actually Nick Suzuki leading the team in points with 95 (27G/68A). They have been quite the duo ever since that 2021 Cup Final run.

Of course, the strong duo has become an even stronger trio thanks to young defenseman Lane Hutson, who is coming off winning the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) last year. Hutson was key in the Canadiens' run to the playoffs last year, racking up 66 points (6G/60A) in his freshman campaign. So how is his sophomore season going? He's already topped his point total from last year. He has 74 so far, and 12 of them are goals, doubling his goals total from last year. That total puts Hutson third on the team, and trailing the big 3 is Juraj Slafkovsky, who was famously drafted by the Habs over Shane Wright. Slafkovsky has 67 points, and 29 of them went in the net.

The Canadiens are the seventh team to clinch a spot this year, and they are the first Canadian team to do so. Buffalo and Minnesota's clinchings place hockey fans on "1st Cup Watch," and the Canadiens getting in means that Canada Watch 2026 is officially on. This team looks stronger than last year, and they actually have a chance to finish first in the Atlantic Division. We will definitely see if Les Habitants will take the Atlantic, but for now, major congratulations to the Canadiens for returning to the playoffs!