Montreal Canadiens

What Could Sink the CH Against the Wild: A Heavy Schedule and a Crazy Standings Race
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
What Could Sink the CH Against the Wild: A Heavy Schedule and a Crazy Standings Race
Credit: Getty Images

Tomorrow night, the Minnesota Wild will be visiting the Bell Centre.

Part of the evening will be dedicated to Carey Price, who will be in town to be honored by Canadiens fans following his induction into the Hall of Fame tonight.

I think fans will turn out in droves to honor him tomorrow night.

But Martin St-Louis won't be able to just show up to enjoy the show—he'll have to make sure his players are ready to face the Wild.

Minnesota is currently atop the Western Conference.

One thing to watch for is the third period. The Canadiens very, very often give up goals in the final 20 minutes of the game, but the Wild don't.

In fact, the Habs have a goal differential of -9 in the third period. The Wild, on the other hand, are at +6.

Minnesota may not be good in overtime and may not have a “Mr. Clutch” (Cole Caufield) in such situations, but the fact remains that the Habs will need to watch their backs late in the game.

We imagine this will be a focus during practice this morning.

A tough schedule ahead

Even though the Habs are the only team in the league without a regular-season loss in their last 10 games (9-0-1, including the historic loss to the Jets), winning tomorrow's game will be important.

Why? Because the rest of the month needs to get off on the right foot.

When you look at the schedule for the rest of the month, it's clear it won't be a walk in the park. This week, three tough opponents are on the docket, including a trip to Boston.

Next week? A three-game road trip… featuring three games broadcast on three different channels and platforms. Note that the game in New York will be on TVA Sports and the one in New Jersey will be on Prime.

(Credit: NHL.com)

Then, at the end of the month, a three-game road trip out West against some strong teams is also on the schedule. So no, it won't be easy for the Canadiens.

They'd better start winning right away to solidify their position in the standings.

Speaking of the standings…

Have you noticed that most of the teams at the bottom of the wild-card standings are from the Metropolitan Division? And that four of the top five teams are in the Atlantic Division?

Have you noticed that the Rangers have fewer points than the Sens?

(Credit: Sportsnet)

We all knew the Atlantic (where only the Red Wings aren't playing at .500) was a strong division. But the start of the season confirms that, yes, it's going to be tough to make the playoffs in the East.

The Blue Jackets and the Pennsylvania teams, on the other hand, won't be able to climb out of their slump. #SidneyCrosby

In Brief

– Don't miss it tonight. Carey Price isn't the only one grabbing attention in Quebec.

– Nice.

– Read this.

– Seriously.

– Way too early, indeed.