The Montreal Canadiens have closed out their regular season failing
perhaps by just a single victory in taking the eastern conference crown.
Instead, the top offense in the east will take the fourth seed, and home ice
advantage in what will be a battle of the extremes. While Montreal touts the
most goals scored in the East, their opponent, the Columbus Bluejackets, sport
the best defense in the east, and one of the league’s top goaltenders in Kevin
Poulin.
This makes the Habs’ acquisition of Leland Irving as a rental all the more
important. His .928 save percentage since joining the club is stellar, and with
11 starts under his belt, that’s not exactly a small sample size.
Columbus having 12 skaters with over 100 hits compared to 8 on Montreal, may
mean this is one of the few possible matchups league wide in which you could
say the Habs offense is neutralized.
Before a nail biting playoff match begins however, there’s a little time to
acknowledge a personal award. While his final game featured 7 shots in a clear
attempt to pass that 100 mark, Montreal’s Michael Dal Colle finished pointless,
but with a stellar 98 on the season—enough for the Art Ross trophy. Runner up Steven Stamkos (EDM) ended his season with 95
points.
Likely award nominations for Sam Morin and rookie Matthew Highmore are also
pending. The former has won before, the latter ended his technical rookie
season leading in goals with 27, however being at the max eligibility age of 25
is likely to cost him votes when it comes to who wins the award.
12/11/2024 - 257 words
