Montreal Canadiens
Highlights: Canadiens Clinch Playoff Berth In Exciting Final Game
The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night, looking to finally secure their presence in the 2025 NHL Playoffs.
It was a very simply scenario for the Habs.
Win, and you’re in.
Of course, given they’ve dealt with that exact same scenario for several games, Wednesday’s match-up was far from a stress-free event.
Fortunately for the Canadiens, their best players were their best players. And while that’s one of the most overused clichés, it certainly held true in the final game of the regular season, as the Habs emerged with a well-deserved 4-2 win.
Let’s dive into the highlights!
Once More Unto The Breach, Dear Friends, Once More
The Habs started the game on the right note, a crucial factor in any game, and even more important seeing as Martin St-Louis’ team usually takes at least 20 minutes to get going.
Kaiden Guhle scored his fifth goal of the year via a nice pass by Juraj Slafkovsky, and, of course, a good setup Nick Suzuki. With the assist, Suzuki passed Mario Tremblay to become the fourth-most productive Canadiens player under the age of 26 in team history, trailing only Guy Lafleur, Henri Richard, and Steve Shutt.
The play gave the Canadiens a hard-earned, if not brief lead, featuring a critical goal from the blue line, which hasn’t come easy this season, especially when we consider the Habs had one of the most productive back-ends in the NHL last season.
A huge goal by Kaiden Guhle to open the game for the #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/XqxoIN8mj7
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 16, 2025
Hell Is Empty And All The Devils Are Here
Taylor Hall tied the game after a chaotic play led to the puck landing on his stick. Unfortunately for the Canadiens, the puck deflected twice before making its way behind Samuel Montembeault.
It was a tough break, but the Canadiens are no strangers to adversity. They’ve built their entire season on the notion that adversity breeds intensity.
Taylor Hall gets all the bounces to tie the game. pic.twitter.com/ttQgDs38x7
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 16, 2025
Small Cheer And Great Welcome Makes A Merry Feast
As per tradition, Suzuki led the team when they needed it most. The Canadiens captain scored his 30th goal of the year to give his team a precious one-goal lead late in the second period. Full marks to Alex Carrier for his great pass, not to mention Slafkovsky’s excellent work to keep the play alive prior to Suzuki’s snipe.
This is what Nick Suzuki does. Big goals, big moments.
A key goal to give the Habs a big lead. Great work by Slafkovsky to keep the play alive. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Tefdt6y6fG
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 17, 2025
Be Not Afraid Of Greatness
Rather than heading into the second intermission with a fragile one-goal lead, the Montreal Canadiens decided to ramp things up in the final minutes of the second period. Guhle scored his sixth goal of the game with a little over a minute left in the frame, and Slafkovsky once again worked hard to secure the puck. He also quickly made his way to the net to create chaos in the crease. Many were down on Slafkovsky because he missed a few passes in the first period, but he ended up playing a pivotal role in all three Canadiens goals.
We should also note Lane Hutson registered his 60th assist of the season on the play, tying Larry Murphy for the most assists by a rookie defenceman in league history. His 65th point also meant he tied Phil Housley for the fourth-most points by a rookie defenceman in league history.
Not bad, I guess.
There’s no doubt about it, the other rookies are having decent seasons, but Hutson is having an all-time rookie campaign, which is why he is the only logical choice for the Calder Trophy.
The goal was all the insurance the Canadiens needed to secure the biggest win of the season, as it allowed them to finally clinch the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, leading to a surprise appearance in the 2025 NHL Playoffs.
ANOTHER huge goal by Kaiden Guhle! Slafkovsky kept the play alive and screened the goalie, not bad.
3-1 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/g2oBCd6D3Z
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 17, 2025
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted. Via Natural Stat Trick. All subtitles were blatantly stolen from a little known author named Willy S.
Hats off to Armia for a great game. He won’t get much recognition, but I think he was just as valuable as Suzuki and Montembeault were tonight.
I remember when I was a kid the final game of the 1970 season. The Habs needed to score I think 5 goals to win the the goals scored tie breaker to make the playoffs. It didn’t end well losing to the Blackhawks 10-2. So happy tonight ended with a much better result! Looking forward to seeing what this team can do in the playoffs. Hopefully gain more than valuable experience, but that would be ok too.
I, too, remember that game. The Habs pulled their goalie with almost an entire 3rd period to play. They were tied with the Rangers in points but down 4 goals in total goals — thanks to the Red Wings literally gifting the Rangers a 9-5 win the day before. Our Habs could only muster 2 goals and were eliminated.
Yet another example of the value of Hutson and Suzuki to this team. Without them, our Habs would be bottom 5 in the league, and people would certainly not be talking about Marty as coach of the year material. Except for rare instances, the team makes the coach, and not the other way around.