After
playing the entire season on the playoff bubble, the Montreal Canadiens have
surged in the season’s second half, with a 9-3-3 record in their last 15 games.
Tonight, they cap off the season’s “hell week” – 7 games in 7 days – with a
game on home ice against the division leading Detroit Red Wings. A win would
slot them into first place in the North East.
“The guys are absolutely gassed right now. I’m not sure how they’re pulling it
off”
With the trade deadline less than 72 hours away, one has to wonder if the now
eight-point playoff cushion they now possess is changing the calculus.Don’t count on it, says Walsh.
“I’m not being coy or anything. This is the team. What could conceivably help
this club right now doesn’t grow on trees, and we’re not swinging any big
sticks to find them”.
When it took this long for the right
chemistry to be found, making a change now might not be advisable. But for this
week’s injury to Michael Dal Colle changing things up, the Habs have been
running the same top two units for nearly two months now. Under normal
circumstances MDC may have sat out 1 or 2 more games, but last night’s big
matchup with Pittsburgh saw him slot back in with limited minutes. The case
will be the same tonight versus Detroit.
Not only is the team in a standings fight every night, Dal Colle sits 1 point
off the league lead, and definitely would be pushing to play despite not being
100%. Despite that snakebitten start that saw the superstar score only twice in
the first 18 games, MDC recovered and has snagged his tenth straight 20-goal
season, while being on pace to net his fourth 30-goal season.
11/13/2025 - 272 words
