The Montreal Canadiens control their own playoff destiny

The Montreal Canadiens have spent close to a week in the final spot in the Eastern Conference wild-card race – and they’ve got two games in hand compared to the New York Rangers.

Montreal’s inclusion in the playoffs is far from a foregone conclusion. But with points in nine of their last 10 games, they keep finding a way to stay relevant in the postseason hunt. They still need the two New York teams to struggle down the stretch, but the Habs’ ability to keep things tight, even in a loss, makes them a dangerous team.

On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli broke things down on the team’s recent play:

Tyler Yaremchuk: “The Montreal Canadiens absolutely do control their own destiny, and I love this last 10-game stat line: 5-1-4. Frank, in their last six games, they’re only 3-3, but they picked up points and all six of them. If they lose, it’s in overtime. They’re scrappy, they seem to have almost taken on the personality of their head coach Martin St. Louis.”

Frank Seravalli: “Milk milk, squirt squirt. Milk points, that’s it, that’s the name of the game Points in nine of your last 10 if you’re trying to make the postseason and you’re in that spot, nine out of every 10 games you’re getting a point, you’re going to be in great shape. And that’s the spot they find themselves in now. They’ve got two games in hand on the team chasing them in the New York Rangers. Points percentage-wise, they’re within smelling distance of the Ottawa Senators just in front of them.

“I think they’re also really fun to watch. They’ve got that playoff-level offense in them. They’re 13th in the league in goals-for. That’s been good. And if you can ratchet down that goals against, you’re going to be in a really good spot. I’ll be very surprised if these eight teams that are in the playoffs now in the East don’t end up being the eight teams that represent the East when the playoffs open in mid-April.”

You can watch the full episode below: