Canadiens Tank Watch: Habs Get Help, Remain In Bottom Five

The Montreal Canadiens exacted some revenge on the Tampa Bay Lightning and it didn’t hurt their Draft Lottery outlook, thanks to some help.

It was a very eventful night in the NHL on Tuesday evening. The Canadiens were one of 26 teams in action across the league; with some major implications on the lines from an NHL standings perspective.

The Canadiens were able to get a measure of revenge over the Tampa Bay Lightning in their second duel against their divisional rivals in as many games.

In securing the victory, the Canadiens saw their season totals rise to 62 points in 71 games so far this season.

Despite the win, the Canadiens were not only able to stay in 28th place in the standings; their rival clubs were able to secure wins of their own, maintaining the valuable point separation between the Canadiens and the teams above them.

Broad Street Buddies

The Philadelphia Flyers took on the Florida Panthers in a doubly important game for the Canadiens; as the Flyers are directly behind the Canadiens in the standings.

The Flyers went on to secure a surprising win against the Panthers, bringing their point totals to 64 in 71 games this season; maintaining the two-point divide with the Canadiens.

However, the Flyers also halted the red-hot Panthers and gave other clubs still in the Wild Card race, like the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins, the opportunity to pick themselves up and leapfrog Florida in the standings.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings and St-Louis Blues, the 24th and 23rd-placed team in the standings, went the distance and saw their game end in a shootout.

Even though Detroit came out on top, St-Louis grabbing the extra point further removes the outcome of the Canadiens sliding as far back as 8th-to-last.

It’s a positive outlook for the Montreal Canadiens’ Draft Lottery odds; providing clarity on the options ahead for the storied franchise in a very important 2023 NHL Draft.

More Injuries

With the Canadiens set to play their next 11 games over 22 days; it’s going to be a very bumpy ride to the finish.

That ride was given even worse news on Tuesday evening, as Kaiden Guhle was ruled out for the rest of the season with a high ankle sprain.

On top of losing one of their most important defencemen, the Canadiens could be without veteran Josh Anderson for a little bit, as the power forward seemed to injure his ankle in a collision with Tampa Bay’s net in the late stages of Tuesday night’s game.

Nonetheless, the Montreal Canadiens will continue to put up entertaining performances and keep pace with the top teams in the league; but they may soon start to lose momentum, as the weight of the season begins to show itself on the ice.