xXx..CK..xXx Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 With roughly three weeks left in the regular season, playoff season is right around the corner and the final push to clinch a berth is here… for multiple teams. I decided to make this thread where we can have a clear indication of each team’s remaining schedule, as well as discuss the push and update results, etc. Montreal Canadiens March 25: Road vs St. Louis @ 8PM EST Loss 1-6 March 27: Road vs Philadelphia @ 7PM EST Loss 4-6 March 28: Road vs Carolina @ 7PM EST Loss 1-4 March 30: Road vs Florida @ 1PM EST Win 4-2 April 1: Home vs Florida @ 7PM EST Win 3-2 (OT) April 3: Home vs Boston @ 7PM EST Win 4-1 April 5: Home vs Philadelphia @ 7PM EST Win 3-2 April 6: Road vs Nashville @ 7PM EST Win 3-2 April 8: Home vs Detroit @ 7PM EST Won 4-1 April 11: Road vs Ottawa @ 7PM EST Loss 2-5 April 12: Road vs Toronto @ 7PM EST Loss 0-1 (OT) April 14: Home vs Chicago @ 7PM EST Loss 3-4 (SO) April 15: Home vs Carolina @ 7PM EST Won 4-2 Points: 75 Games Remaining: 13Home: 6 Games Road: 7 Games Maximum Points: 101 Strength of schedule: 7-4-2 record since thread creation Updated Totals: Points: 91 Games Remaining: 0 Home: 0 Game Road: 0 Games Maximum Points: 91 New York Islanders March 26: Home vs Vancouver @ 7:30PM EST Loss 2-5 March 29: Road vs Tampa Bay @ 2PM EST Loss 3-5 March 30: Road vs Carolina @ 5PM EST Loss 4-6 April 1: Home vs Tampa Bay @ 7:30PM EST Lost 1-4 April 4: Home vs Minnesota @ 7:30PM EST Won 3-1 April 6: Home vs Washington @ 12:30PM EST Won 4-1 April 8: Road vs Nashville @ 8PM EST Loss 6-7 (OT) April 10: Home vs NYR @ 7:30PM EST Loss 2-9 April 12: Road vs Philly @ 12:30PM EST Loss 3-4 (SO) April 13: Road vs New Jersey @ 1PM EST Win 1-0 April 15: Home vs Washington @ 8PM EST Loss 1-3 April 17: Road vs Columbus @ 7:30PM EST Loss 1-6 Points: 74 Games Remaining: 12 Home: 6 Games Road: 6 Games Maximum Points: 98 Strength of Schedule: 3-7-2 record since thread creation Updated Totals: Points: 82 Games Remaining: 0 Home: 0 Games Road: 0 Games Maximum Points: 82 New York Rangers March 25: Road vs LA @ 10:30PM EST Loss 1-3 March 28: Road vs Anaheim @ 10:00PM EST Loss 3-4 (OT) March 29: Road vs San Jose @ 10:30PM EST Win 6-1 April 2: Home vs Minnesota @ 7PM EST Win 5-4 (OT) April 5: Road vs New Jersey @ 12:30PM EST Loss 0-4 April 7: Home vs Tampa Bay @ 7PM EST Loss 1-5 April 9: Home vs Philadelphia @ 7:30PM EST Loss 5-8 April 10: Road vs Islanders @ 7:30PM EST Win 9-2 April 12: Road vs Carolina @ 3PM EST Loss 3-7 April 14: Road vs Florida @ 7PM EST Win 5-3 April 17: Home vs Tampa Bay @ 7PM EST Won 4-0 Points: 74 Games Remaining: 11 Home: 4 Games Road: 7 Games Maximum Points: 96 Strength of Schedule: 5-5-1 record since thread creation Updated Totals: Points: 85 Games Remaining: 0 Home: 0 Games Road: 0 Games Maximum Points: 85 Columbus Blue Jackets March 28: Home vs Vancouver @ 7PM EST Win 7-6 (SO) March 29: Road vs Ottawa @ 7PM EST Loss 2-3 April 1: Home vs Nashville @ 7PM EST Win 8-4 April 3: Home vs Colorado @ 7:30PM EST Loss 3-7 April 5: Road vs Toronto @ 7PM EST Loss 0-5 April 6: Road vs Ottawa @ 7PM EST Loss 0-4 April 8: Home vs Ottawa @ 7PM EST Won 5-2 April 10: Home vs Buffalo @ 7PM EST Win 3-2 April 12: Home vs Washington @ 12:30PM EST Win 7-0 April 13: Road vs Washington @ 6PM EST Win 4-1 April 15: Road vs Philly @ 7PM EST Win 3-0 April 17: Home vs NYI @ 7:30PM EST Won 6-1 Points: 73 Games Remaining: 12 Home: 7 Games Road: 5 Games Maximum Points: 97 Strength of Schedule: 8-4-0 record since thread creation Updated Totals: Points: 89 Games Remaining: 0 Home: 0 Games Road: 0 Games Maximum Points: 89 Detroit Red Wings March 25: Road vs Colorado @ 9PM EST Loss 2-5 March 27: Home vs Ottawa @ 7PM EST Loss 3-4 March 29: Home vs Boston @ 8PM EST Win 2-1 April 1: Road vs Blues @ 8PM EST Loss 1-2 (OT) April 4: Home vs Carolina @ 7PM EST Won 5-3 April 6: Home vs Florida @ 5:30PM EST Win 2-1 April 8: Road vs Montreal @ 7PM EST Loss 1-4 April 10: Road vs Florida @ 7PM EST Loss 1-4 April 11: Road vs Tampa @ 7PM EST Win 3-2 (OT) April 14: Home vs Dallas @ 7PM EST Win 6-4 April 16: Road vs New Jersey @ 7:30PM EST Win 5-2 April 17: Road vs Toronto @ 7PM EST Loss 3-4 OT Points: 72 Games Remaining: 12 Home: 5 Games Road: 7 Games Maximum Points: 96 Strength of Schedule: 6-4-2 record since thread creation Updated Totals: Points: 86 Games Remaining: 0 Home: 0 Games Road: 2 Games Maximum Points: 86 Current Standings 3/25/2025 Montreal: GP 69 - 33-27-9 / 75 Pts / RW 24 NYI: GP 70 - 32-28-10 / 74 Pts / RW 25 NYR: GP 71 - 34-31-6 / 74 Pts / RW 31 Columbus: GP 70 - 32-29-9 /73 Pts/ RW 23 Detroit: GP 70 - 33-31-6 / 72 Pts / RW 25 Updated Final Standings 4/18/2025 Montreal: GP 82 - 40-31-11 / 91 Pts / RW 30 ———————————————————— CBJ: GP 82 - 40-33-9 / 89 Pts / RW 30 Detroit: GP 82 - 39-35-8 / 86 Pts / RW 30(elim) NYR: GP 82 - 39-36 -7 / 85 Pts / RW 35 (elim) NYI: GP 81 35-35-12 / 82 Pts / RW 28 (elim) —— That’s the picture right now. Habs are somewhat in the driver’s seat but any lapse and there are plenty of teams ready to take advantage. Every team in the race have either won their last match or have 2 consecutive losses in overtime/shootout. As a results, every team has been accumulating points. With that being said, Columbus had 6 losses prior to their last win against the Islanders. They also have a relatively tough schedule for their remaining games (8th toughest in the league). Detroit has the toughest remaining schedule in the league, the Islanders the 4th toughest schedule and the Rangers have the 14th toughest schedule. While the schedule for the Habs doesn’t necessarily look easy on paper, they have the easiest schedule on paper amongst the group at 23rd toughest schedule in the league, or 10th easiest. I have my own personal predictions in terms of how the individual games will go for each team, but with parity in the league, one truly never knows. With all that in place, if I had to predict who would make the playoffs with all this information in place, I would pick the Habs. Should the Habs miss the playoffs, it will be the first time in franchise history that they miss the playoffs 4 seasons in a row. May the ghosts of the forum continue to make their way into the Bell Center and help our Habs during this final stretch and continue on through the playoffs. Feel free to use this thread for anything related to the playoff push and any games or information involving the other teams within the race. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzer Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Columbus gets a bit of a boost with Monahan returning. He was PPG prior to his injury. Habs should get a boost with Guhle returning. It's going to be interesting to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 Prior to tonight’s games, the following are the playoff odds of each team: Montreal: 55.8% New York Islanders: 17.2% New York Rangers: 18.2% Columbus: 13.9% Detroit: 5.3% Based on 1000 simulations of the remainder of the season on hockey reference. Take the stats for what they are worth as Montreal was also recently something like 15-20% only a few weeks ago. With that being said, when I look at the remaining games and strength of opponents, I have Montreal finishing with around 90 points, which is higher than any of the other teams which I have in the mid-80s at most. Despite the odds, I think it’s possible the Islanders will end higher than the Rangers but it should be close with them either tied or within a point of one another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Detroit has a brutal schedule, Habs have a great chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 I’ll update the results in the original post as they come in. So far everyone in the race who didn’t play today is happy. Though they weren’t discussed here as they currently hold the first wildcard spot, Ottawa lost 3-2 against Buffalo. Montreal lost 6-1 to St. Louis Detroit lost 5-2 to Colorado Rangers game is not finished but they are losing 2-1 to the Kings in the second intermission…… Rangers lost 3-1 Record since original post: Montreal 0-1-0 NYI 0-0-0 NYR 0-1-0 CBJ 0-0-0 DET 0-1-0 Updated Standings MTL: 70 GP - 75 PTS - Max Points: 99 NYI: 70 GP - 74 PTS - Max Points: 98 NYR: 72 GP - 74 PTS - Max Points 94 CBJ: 70 GP - 73 PTS - Max Points 97 DET: 71 GP - 72 PTS - Max Points 94 The race is on.… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 The only relevant game today will be the Islanders’ home game against the Canucks. Should the Islanders beat the Canucks, then they will leapfrog the Habs and take over the final wildcard spot for the time being. New Jersey is also facing the Blackhawks and Boston is facing Anaheim. Those two teams aren’t directly involved in the wildcard race, although Boston is still technically alive, but we’ll hope for the western conference teams to win in all three scenarios this evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Islanders lost tonight against Vancouver 5 to 2. Thank youuu. Record since original post: Montreal 0-1-0 NYI 0-1-0 NYR 0-1-0 CBJ 0-0-0 DET 0-1-0 No team in the race has won since the thread was created. Let’s have the Habs be the first to change things tomorrow against Philadelphia. Updated Standings MTL: 70 GP - 75 PTS - Max Points: 99 NYI: 71 GP - 74 PTS - Max Points: 96 NYR: 72 GP - 74 PTS - Max Points 94 CBJ: 70 GP - 73 PTS - Max Points 97 DET: 71 GP - 72 PTS - Max Points 94 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 That's a big win for Vancouver and obviously nice to see the Islanders lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Detroit’s been in the midst of using 3 goalies with Mrazek, Talbot and Lyon sharing the duties. Mrazek was holding the reigns since they acquired him but with him and Talbot nursing injuries, Lyon will get his second straight start tonight. Talbot will be the backup as he seems to be dealing with a nagging injury rather than one that is more serious and acute. Hopefully Lyon is not “the man” and this little goaltending controversy helps the Habs have one less team to compete against for the last wildcard spot. Detroit faces Ottawa tonight, while the Habs face Philly. Those are the only teams in action tonight, amongst the squads in the race. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 Had to recover mentally after last night’s loss. Both Detroit and Montreal lost yesterday so no team within the race is earning their spot as of yet. Record since original post: Montreal 0-2-0 NYI 0-1-0 NYR 0-1-0 CBJ 0-0-0 DET 0-2-0 Columbus has been enjoying things and despite no one voting for them as the team that will clinch a playoff spot, they and the Habs are the only teams that can currently reach a maximum of 97 points, the highest amongst the group. The Habs currently hold the tiebreak between them and Columbus. One more regulation win which Columbus could tie with their game in hand but the Habs have 31 ROW (regulation or overtime win) whereas Columbus only has 27. One more would bring them to 28. Updated Standings MTL: 71 GP - 75 PTS - Max Points: 97 —————————————————— NYI: 71 GP - 74 PTS - Max Points: 96 NYR: 72 GP - 74 PTS - Max Points 94 CBJ: 70 GP - 73 PTS - Max Points 97 DET: 72 GP - 72 PTS - Max Points 92 The Habs, Rangers and Columbus are in action tonight. Columbus at home and Habs and Rangers on the road: Habs @ Carolina - 7pm Rangers @ Anaheim - 10pm Vancouver @ Columbus - 7pm Another big night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Habs are fortunate that the other suitors are just as inconsistent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Montreal has the easiest schedule but as we saw last night, playing a weaker team doesn't always work out. Forget about Detroit, they have a brutal schedule to finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 Despite their recent performances, the Habs are still the favorites to make the playoffs amongst the teams. Hockey Reference Habs: 36.5% Columbus: 27.1% New York Rangers: 18.5% New York Islanders: 17.4% Detroit: 3.6% Playoff Status Habs: 43% Columbus: 20% New York Rangers: 19% New York Islanders: 17% Detroit: 3% In both cases, you could combine the Rangers’ and Islanders’ chances and they are less than the Habs alone. I’m personally not as much a fan of Money Puck’s numbers in general but… Money Puck Habs: 34% New York Rangers: 26.1% New York Islanders: 22.8% Columbus: 16.8% Detroit: 3.9% No matter which way one slices it, Detroit is indeed treading water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 Habs lose and Columbus comes back from 0-3 and 3-5 respectively to win 7-6 in a shootout. Wonderful. The only good news is that Columbus didn’t win in regulation or even overtime so we still have an advantage when it comes to both tiebreaks. A very small saving grave though, as we likely would have held the tiebreak with them anyway down the road. For the time being they have leapfrogged us in the standings because they have the same amount of points but have played one less game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 Stopped checking the Anaheim - Rangers game with 2 minutes left and the Rangers winning 4-3. Considering they were winning 4-2 with less than 6 minutes left, I’ll take the 5-4 overtime win for Anaheim. Columbus and New York Rangers were the first teams to gather some points since this thread started. Record since original post: CBJ 1-0-0 = 2 pts NYR 0-1-1 = 1 pt NYI 0-1-0 = 0 pts DET 0-2-0 = 0 pts MTL 0-3-0 = 0 pts Maximum Achievable Points: CBJ: 97 NYI: 96 MTL: 95 NYR: 93 DET: 92 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 5 losses in a row is frustrating. The playoffs were firmly in our grasp but now it’s back to a dog fight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hab29RETIRED Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 I think we we are done. I don’t get get out why the odds weee so high to begin with. 1) no legit second line 2) not as much talent or completeness I. Our lineup than the other teams in the mix. The guys were playing hard with no quit, but this past week, there were far too many things going against us - bad coaching staff calls, like overplaying Monty. Shouldn’t played Dobes against St Louis, Monty against Philly. Breaking up the Hutson-Struble pairing - yes Guhle is a better player, but he has been out for a while and coming of an injury. Should have been Savard out, or Xhejac. Play Matheson on the right side with Guhle. Carrière with Xhejac. Have physicality on the each pairing. -goaltending for the most part sucked. Yes. Monty made some great games in some of the games, but too many weak goals, and goalies not making the saves when needed. -Torts firing happened at the worst time. He gets fired and Michkov has probably his best game. Dumb, dumb, dumb move passing on this kid. Could have made up for a the lack of second line centre, and given us a legit second line. Exhibit A for taking the best available player, and not drafting based on need. I think both a Michkov and Leonard well be better players then Reinbacher. Playoff chances not looking good with both NY teams having much better goaliesZ, and the Rangers having a better team. Sens are in. I think we blow the games in hand we had, and Columbus, Isles and NYR now have better chances. We have no four point games remaining against the teams that matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 49 minutes ago, hab29RETIRED said: I think we we are done. I don’t get get out why the odds weee so high to begin with. Are a few mediocre teams playing pretty crappy, who the heck knows who will finish better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EKcit65mS/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 It's amazing how 1 bad week changes a lot of people's perspective on the team. They are a young team on the rise but they still have some holes. I am glad Hughes didn't go crazy giving up picks to improve the team at the deadline. Young teams will have more ups and downs. If they can split the two Florida games coming up then they are in good shape as the 4 games after that are all winnable. I try and keep things in perspective, they have made progress this year which is all you can ask for. I think the future is bright. Demidov should help with secondary scoring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 35 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said: It's amazing how 1 bad week changes a lot of people's perspective on the team. They are a young team on the rise but they still have some holes. I am glad Hughes didn't go crazy giving up picks to improve the team at the deadline. Young teams will have more ups and downs. If they can split the two Florida games coming up then they are in good shape as the 4 games after that are all winnable. I try and keep things in perspective, they have made progress this year which is all you can ask for. I think the future is bright. Demidov should help with secondary scoring. Yes, Hughes made a wise decision, I think. He threw it back to the team - 'show me what you've got' - and I'm sure he is taking careful notes to inform an important summer for the rebuild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 A good start to the day, Tampa up on the Islanders 2-0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 Every team in the race outside of the Habs are in action tonight. A rare Saturday night without the Habs. 20 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said: A good start to the day, Tampa up on the Islanders 2-0 Make that 3-0 after the first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hab29RETIRED Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 3 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said: It's amazing how 1 bad week changes a lot of people's perspective on the team. They are a young team on the rise but they still have some holes. I am glad Hughes didn't go crazy giving up picks to improve the team at the deadline. Young teams will have more ups and downs. If they can split the two Florida games coming up then they are in good shape as the 4 games after that are all winnable. I try and keep things in perspective, they have made progress this year which is all you can ask for. I think the future is bright. Demidov should help with secondary scoring. We are doing better than I thought we would. I think i had them finishing with 74 or 76 points, or something like that. Five big issues i saw are the following after their hot post four tournaments start: 1) Glaring need of a legit second line - Demidov isn't going to fully address that next year - we need a legit 2nd line centre. 2) The D is playing like it was at the start of the year. 3) Goalies have been made some great saves, but not timely saves and letting in bad goals at the wrong time. They haven't really won us a game in a while. 4) Coaching decisions. From playing Monty to much, D pairings, shootout player selections. During the hot streak Marty was making all the right moves - I think he is being a bit stubborn with some of his choices. Don't get splitting up Struble and Hutson. Savard should be the odd man out. Good for the PK, but otherwise when he is out, we are hemmed in. The other thing i don't understand is that for most of the game the Suzuki line isn't out with the Hutson pairing when they are trying to mount a comeback. They are effective with Hutson. Why are we wasting Hutson with the lower quality forwards? I get the Suzuki line has the tough matchups, and Carrier-Matheson are the shutdown pairing with the top line, but I think its time to give Hutson more time wit the top line - we are scoring during comebacks, otherwise struggling. 5) Suzuki is overplayed. Goes back to the problems #1 (need for a legit second line - and a legit second line centre), and #4 Coaching decisions. After the break the Suzuki line was on fire. They haven't been as effective and I think a lot has to do with Suzuki not being tired. We need to give up something to get a legit 2nd line centre. If we had drafted Michkov, having an ok centre may have worked next year between Michkov and Demidov. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 5 minutes ago, hab29RETIRED said: We are doing better than I thought we would. I think i had them finishing with 74 or 76 points, or something like that. Five big issues i saw are the following after their hot post four tournaments start: 1) Glaring need of a legit second line - Demidov isn't going to fully address that next year - we need a legit 2nd line centre. 2) The D is playing like it was at the start of the year. 3) Goalies have been made some great saves, but not timely saves and letting in bad goals at the wrong time. They haven't really won us a game in a while. 4) Coaching decisions. From playing Monty to much, D pairings, shootout player selections. During the hot streak Marty was making all the right moves - I think he is being a bit stubborn with some of his choices. Don't get splitting up Struble and Hutson. Savard should be the odd man out. Good for the PK, but otherwise when he is out, we are hemmed in. The other thing i don't understand is that for most of the game the Suzuki line isn't out with the Hutson pairing when they are trying to mount a comeback. They are effective with Hutson. Why are we wasting Hutson with the lower quality forwards? I get the Suzuki line has the tough matchups, and Carrier-Matheson are the shutdown pairing with the top line, but I think its time to give Hutson more time wit the top line - we are scoring during comebacks, otherwise struggling. 5) Suzuki is overplayed. Goes back to the problems #1 (need for a legit second line - and a legit second line centre), and #4 Coaching decisions. After the break the Suzuki line was on fire. They haven't been as effective and I think a lot has to do with Suzuki not being tired. We need to give up something to get a legit 2nd line centre. If we had drafted Michkov, having an ok centre may have worked next year between Michkov and Demidov. While its true the team has flaws.... and we all know we need a 2nd line centre, this shouldn't be fatal to making the playoffs. Every team in the salary cap NHL has flaws, and the Blackhawks won 3 cups without ever having a second line centre. We shouldn't expect a perfect team in year 3 of the rebuild either. They have made strides to improve a lot of areas, and Demidov, Reinbacher will add scoring to the second line and give them another top 4 RHD very soon. From what I've seen those two look like sure things to be 2nd liners/2nd pair d as their floor, and could be top line and top pair kind of players. So yes the 2nd line centre has to be acquired. But I think the performance this year should be seen as a step forward for the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.