Rating the tank: Pyrrhic victory edition

The Montreal Canadiens beat the brakes off the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. Following an early Dylan Strome goal, they took over the game, and made a team that once looked like a playoff contender look more like one that belongs in the NHL’s basement.

It was a pyrrhic victory of sorts for the Habs, however, as the win moved them at least temporarily ahead of the Arizona Coyotes in the standings. They didn’t need those two points, and earning them will now have them requiring some help to remain in the bottom-five.

The good

Joel Armia scored a hat trick, which at least suggests he has some good hockey left in him, and at most, suggests he may have some trade value. He may not be a part of the long term plans in Montreal, but seeing him perform well is worth something, even if it isn’t really anything. Hey, maybe if he rides high through the final three games, he piques the interest of a team or two.

Nick Suzuki also set his career high in points with a shorthanded goal, then increased it with an assist later in the game. Despite a mountain of adversity in his first year as the team’s captain, he’s set a personal best. We’re left to wonder what could have been for him if he maintained his ideal linemates, and hopefully we get to find out next season.

The bad

As if two points for the Habs weren’t bad enough, the Florida Panthers won, increasing their own playoff odds. The New York Islanders won, which is good news in terms of them keeping pace in the East, but the problem is that the Canadiens will now be relying exclusively on the Pittsburgh Penguins to keep the Panthers out of the playoffs.

To make matters even worse, as of this writing, the Coyotes are down 2-0 in the second period to the Seattle Kraken. I shant have the energy to stay up and see how that ends, but should that score hold it would cement the Habs in sixth-last, at least for the time being.

Lottery movement

Unfortunately, there is lottery movement, and as mentioned it moves the Habs up and away from the top five. We can all rejoice here in the comments if Arizona can pull off a comeback.

Tank score

0/10: Hardest tank night to watch since the movie Fury.

Bottom Six Minutes!

In this episode, I’m a little happy about the dominance the Canadiens showed, but at the same time, lamenting the two point gain. Also have some words on the Denis Gurianov situation. Click the play button below to listen to the full episode, and don’t forget to subscribe on your preferred platform, as we have a lot of great content coming up on our channel.