Coming Down the Stretch: The Habs and the Playoffs

I suppose that this is the make-it-or-break-it time for our beloved Habs. We've been on a roller-coaster ride of a season, but this next stretch of games are what really counts.

Forget about the blistering start of the season. We would have been foolish to believe that our Glorieux could maintain such a staggering pace.  I mean, come on, 15 points in nine games? Those are...Boston Bruins numbers!

The woeful beginning of February is behind us.  Finishing the month with a four-game winning streak erases our memories of lacklustre losses and damaging news headlines-past. We won't have to think about that tumultuous time again.

That is, until next season, when we will play terribly at this time as we do every year.

In this, the centennial season, I've learned a few important lessons:

1) Don't listen to the radio after a loss, it only makes you angrier.

2) The season is 82 games long. It doesn't end after October or February. The last game is in April.

3) Regardless of how many years a team has been in a league, regardless of the number of Stanley cups hoisted in years past, every team starts the season with the same amount of wins and losses.  

It's going to be a tough couple of months. With only eight road games left, the Habs must take advantage of their 11 remaining home games. They have the best fans in the NHL (sorry, Leafers), the Bell Centre is simply riotous.

Saku has to lead by example as he usually does and Alex Kovalev must keep performing at his elite level. Consistency counts at this time of year.

With two very good teams in the Atlantic Division (Devils and Flyers), I don't think that the Canadiens can finish better than fifth in the East, unless, of course, they finish the season as they started it.

It's unlikely, though, and I don't have a problem with it. I'm tired of the pressure and the weight of the world on the Habs' shoulders. Going into the playoffs as an underdog would be great for Montreal.

After that, who knows...