Friday Habs Headlines: Phillip Danault is more than a shut-down guy

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

• Don’t call Phillip Danault a shutdown centre, says Claude Julien, as his job is to outplay the opposition rather than nullify them. [Montreal Gazette]
• The Canadiens have taken a big step forward with a rebound season this year. [Hockey Inside/Out]
• The Habs could tie for the best team ever to miss the playoffs, depending on what happens today and tomorrow. [Journal de Montreal]
• School comes first for Cayden Primeau, who still has upcoming exams as he soaks in the professional experience with the Laval Rocket. [RDS]
• The Habs’ playoff ambitions are just one of four storylines worth following as the NHL regular season draws to a conclusion. [CBC]
• Guy Lafleur has been named the best player to ever play in the QMJHL, beating out the likes of Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby. [Radio-Canada]
• Marie-Philip Poulin and Hilary Knight say that it will be themselves and their peers on Teams Canada and USA that shape women’s pro hockey in the days to come. [ProHockeyTalk]
• Jaroslav Halak and friends feature in Down Goes Brown’s list of playoff matchups that far exceeded the hype. [The Athletic]

All eyes on Broadway

• The Columbus Blue Jackets are happy to control their own destiny. [Journal de Montreal]
• The Jackets’ secondary scoring has shown up at just the right time. [The Cannon]
• Oliver Bjorkstrand should be playing more than he is. [1st Ohio Battery]

Around the league and elsewhere

• The Tampa Bay Lightning are the latest to offer their discontent regarding the league’s playoff format. [Sportsnet]
• What does the future hold for Roberto Luongo? [TSN]
• Risers, fallers, and tankers: the three types of teams in the NHL post-Trade Deadline. [ESPN]
• Identifying three overachievers and three underachievers from this season. [Sportsnet]
• Slowly approaching a time without Henrik Lundqvist. [Blueshirt Banter]
• The Carolina Hurricanes surged into the playoffs despite a slow start. [TSN]
• A successful offsides review against the Toronto Maple Leafs may have saved the Canes’ season. [Canes Country]
• Which coaches are on the hot seat and which can enjoy blissfully frigid job security? [ESPN]
• Adam Fox, Cale Makar, and Jimmy Schuldt are your finalists for the Hobey Baker Trophy this year. [RDS]
• Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko are in a tight race to be the top ranked prospect for this year’s entry draft. [TSN]
• When David Screech tried to deposit his 50/50 winnings from a game in Victoria, his bank flagged him as a potential money launderer. [The Province]
• Emily Fulton of the Toronto Furies was one of many who were shocked by the CWHL’s sudden demise. [Stratford Beacon Herald]
• Ryan Straschnitzki is making a new life for himself, a year after the Humboldt crash. [ProHockeyTalk]