The Canadian suffered five losses in a row and after only one month of regular season activities, his hopes of qualifying for the next series logically went up in smoke.
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This is obviously the opinion of many journalists and fans, but also book reviewers and specialized hockey sites. For some, November evokes the month of the dead and for the Habs, the chances of climbing among the top eight teams in the Eastern Association of the National Hockey League (NHL) are anything but alive.
If the trend continues, the CH will miss the post-season clashes for a fourth time in a row; he has not played in a playoff game since losing in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. With a 4-8-2 record good for the East Cellar, Montreal is far from convincing the hockey world.
Also, for example, the betting site bet365.com was pessimistic on Friday morning. The odds for the Canadian’s presence in the playoffs were set at 18.00, just the opposite of those for an absence from the team (1.01). In the NHL, only three clubs were entitled to a more unfavorable rating: the Chicago Blackhawks (23.00), as well as the Anaheim Ducks and the San Jose Sharks, all at 26.00.
Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes (1.04) and Winnipeg Jets (1.071) were the best rated in terms of their odds of playing after the regular schedule.
A big zero
On the side of the moneypuck.com site, which presents the probabilities in the form of percentages, it is also unequivocal. According to this platform, CH has a 2.6% chance of extending its campaign in April. The Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets, at 0.1%, are the only ones with a lower score.
The same site predicts a harvest of 73-74 points for the CH. Furthermore, in the column of chances of winning the Stanley Cup, it is very simple: those of the Habs are 0.1%. Then, the chances of winning an elimination round are 0.8%. In short, there is no reason to display overwhelming optimism about the 30e team in the general classification.
