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The Two Areas the Canadiens Need to Improve to Succeed in the Playoffs
Marc-Olivier Cook
The Two Areas the Canadiens Need to Improve to Succeed in the Playoffs
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

The Canadiens continue to make progress.

They were eliminated in the conference finals during the most recent playoffs, and that's interesting because we can see that the team is improving year after year.

But…

But right now, you can't say the Habs have everything it takes to be one of the top contenders for the Stanley Cup. Renaud Lavoie spoke this morning (BPM Sports) about two elements that are incredibly important: the identity of the fourth line… and the much-discussed second center, whom they're still searching for as of this writing.

And the reporter is right, because we saw that these elements were missing during the team's last playoff run. 

Kent Hughes still has some business to take care of before he can start thinking about the Stanley Cup.
(Credit: Getty Images)

The Habs need to find a way to make their fourth line a force to be reckoned with. And in that regard, we often hear the name Florian Xhekaj: the other guy's brother knows how to play hockey, and he has the makings of a player who can stir things up.

Obviously, Florian isn't going to come in and change everything in town. But there's a reason why members of the Habs organization are raving about him, saying he's getting closer to the NHL…

But what seems to be the most important thing right now is really the second-center position.

We need a guy who can back up Ivan Demidov and help take some of the pressure off Nick Suzuki's shoulders. The captain is good—even excellent—but he can't do it all on his own either…

Let's wait and see what Kent Hughes does to improve the team in that area.

But I can't wait for those answers to come. And I'm sure I'm not the only one…

In a nutshell

– I like his mindset.

– Worth noting.

– What a lineup.