Canadiens Draft Odds Grow Due To Late-Season Surge In Atlantic

The Montreal Canadiens may be winning some games of late, but so too are their divisional rivals, and that could lead to multiple benefits by the end of the year.

The Canadiens are currently in a race to the bottom of the NHL standings.

Although not intentionally tanking, the Canadiens will have an incredibly difficult schedule coming up in the month of March that could see them tumble further down the NHL Standings.

However, beyond simply looking at the Canadiens’ current situation, the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators have made a late-season surge up the NHL standings.

The two Atlantic Division teams currently sit 9th and 10th in the NHL standings respectively, and this with at least two games in hand on their closest pursuants, the Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals.

Even the Detroit Red Wings saw a surge in victories leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline, although general manager Steve Yzerman still decided to sell off pieces, likely contributing to their cooling of late.

All this has done is create further separation between the bottom 10 of the NHL standings and the teams in the running for the playoffs.

The Canadiens currently have a three-point cushion in 26th place with the Philadelphia Flyers and St-Louis Blues both on the chase in 25th and 24th place, respectively.

The Montreal Canadiens seem to be sure of a bottom-10 finish, but that always seemed to be in the cards; potentially having two picks in the top-12 could be especially interesting, thanks to last season’s Ben Chiarot trade.

Surprise Surprise!

Things are now getting interesting in the race for the final two Eastern Conference Wild Card spots in the NHL standings, as the Canadiens have a vested interest in the outcome.

The New York Islanders (72 points)  and Pittsburgh Penguins (71 points) hold the last two spots with a four and three-point lead over the Sabres, Senators, Panthers and Capitals; who all have 68 points at the moment.

With Ottawa adding Jakob Chychrun to the fold leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline, the Senators are now one of the hottest teams in the NHL, riding a five-game winning streak and looking primed for more.

The Buffalo Sabres, led by youngsters Logan Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin and Dylan Cozens, have surged up the standings and have overtaken the race.

With less than 20 games to play, and momentum seemingly having shifted in the Eastern Conference, every single loss will be detrimental to the Florida Panthers.

The Panthers have had to deal with injuries up and down their lineup, keeping star players like Alexander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad out of the lineup for multiple games at a time.

In terms of pure points percentage, the Panthers currently find themselves in a tie with the Capitals for 11th in the East and 22nd in the NHL Standings.

The Sabres and Senators’ late-season rise has created an even bigger threat for the Florida Panthers, who have seen NHL Betting Odds increase their chances of making the playoffs to a -320; a sign that things aren’t good for the Cats.

It will be interesting to see how things play out, but if Montreal Canadiens fans can get any consolation from possibly missing out on picking top-5 at the 2023 NHL Draft, it would be to pick twice within the top-12 of a loaded draft.

MUST READ: Overviewing The Canadiens Top Targets For 2023 NHL Draft

*For more NHL Betting lines and futures, head over to FanDuel