Can the Habs finally make the playoffs?

The Montreal Canadiens enter Thursday’s action holding down the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They have not made the playoffs since their surprising run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. This core, led by Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, is in desperate need of playoff experience. General manager Kent Hughes told Daily FaceOff’s Frank Seravalli that this core is ready to win.

“That when we’re playing our game, we can play with anybody,” Hughes told Seravalli. “We’re still searching for that consistency. I think if you look at any stretch of games, we’ve been very good. We haven’t been great in other stretches and we’re back on another winning stretch.

Which, to me, to a certain degree, is to be expected with a young team. One of the last things to come is consistency with a player and a group. So we’re hoping that all of this, they’re building blocks, they’re foundational pieces that we acquire and carry forward with us.”

The Canadiens play the New York Islanders on Thursday night in the most consequential game of the season so far. If they lose, it could be the beginning of the end for the Habs. But if they win, they could be in the playoffs with upset potential.

The Canadiens need to get over the hump

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The young forwards, Suzuki and Caufield, get all of the attention. Suzuki has been a point-per-game player this season and Caufield could reach 40 goals this year. But the goalies have been an underrated storyline this season and buoying them in this playoff race. Sam Montembault has a remarkable 2.84 goals-against average and 23-year-old Jakub Dobes has been spectacular in 12 starts.

The Canadiens did not make many additions at the NHL trade deadline but they also did not trade any free agents. They spent the last few years dealing pending free agents at the deadline and adding assets. With prospects like Ivan Demidov and David Reinbacher coming, they did not need to load up on picks.

This could be the first of many playoff appearances for the Canadiens. They have seen teams in their division, the Red Wings and Sabres, get stuck in rebuilds and miss the playoffs for an entire generation. The Habs have to go all-in on this core and this run to make the playoffs and give their core a chance to succeed.

The Canadiens play the Islanders at 7:30 on Thursday night in their biggest game in years.

Christopher Hennessy is an MLB associate editor at ClutchPoints, with additional expertise in the NHL and golf. He graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022, and he has work experience at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders reporter.