Exactly a year ago on this day, April 16, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Detroit Red Wings in Game 82 of the 2023-24 regular season.
The Canadiens had nothing to play for, other than showcasing Lane Hutson before what was going to be one of the best rookie seasons a defender has had in NHL history. They took the Red Wings to a shootout. Detroit had to win their game to keep their playoff hopes alive, and they did.
The only problem was it wasn’t only up to them. The Washington Capitals had done enough on their end, and the Red Wings knew it even before they ended up winning the shootout.
It is now 2025. The Canadiens started their season with the hope that they would be a team playing meaningful games into April. On Wednesday, they will play the most meaningful regular season game imaginable. Win and you’re in the playoffs. Lose in regulation, and your fate is no longer up to you.
We can (and if the results don’t go Montreal’s way over the next two days, will) go over the way we got here ad nauseam. The missed opportunities. The point that would have gotten them over the edge that they let slip away. A misplay here, a goalpost there. On Wednesday, that road doesn’t matter. There are 16 NHL teams, even the Columbus Blue Jackets the team that could ultimately pass the Canadiens, who would love to be in Montreal’s shoes.
The pressure is a privilege.
Playing hockey in Montreal is unlike any other, in good times and in bad. So much of the current team embraces that. They know how lucky they are to be in a place like this. It’s also a nervous situation to be in. The nervous energy can affect people in different ways, and as a whole, the team has yet to really play their full game with the chance to clinch.
On Wednesday, when they host the Carolina Hurricanes, they have to play desperate. This group always talks about how much they want to win together. If they don’t earn a point, it could be the last time they get to play together. This group will not be together next season. There will be changes, and perhaps even significant ones.
Hockey is a frustrating game at times. You can play the perfect game, and still end up on the losing side because of a bad bounce, a series of bad bounces, or a goaltender who decides that today is not your day. There’s nothing the Canadiens can do to guarantee the result they want, but it would be a disappointing end for everyone if they don’t put their best foot forward when it matters most.
Last week, Jakub Dobeš was asked if it’s hard to get ready for games when he isn’t playing often and he laughed the question off saying there were only 64 goaltenders in the NHL and he was one of them. From the outside, it’s not an easy position, but it’s not about being easy.
From the outside, it looks like the Canadiens are doing this the hard way, but it’s not about being easy. There is only one team in their situation and at least a dozen would want nothing more than to be in their place.
Perspective is a funny thing. If you said that the Canadiens would be in this situation in September, you’d say it was a great season. In early December, you’d say it was an almost impossibly good result. In mid-February, it would have been a positive development. On April 8, after beating the same Red Wings, this would have been a nightmare that is now, eight days later, a reality.
It’s not fair, but what happens on Wednesday will define their season. They will either be the team that persevered and when their backs were against the wall, pushed themselves off of it. Or they will be the team that lost four straight games, fumbling a chance that their six previous games put them in. There have been some truly great things that happened this season, but if they don’t make the playoffs it will always be “yeah, but”.
Even with the swirl of negativity that has engulfed the fanbase, even despite what happened in the three previous games, the Canadiens are right where they wanted to be. They have one last chance to get to the next place they want to be with their fate in their hands.
