Montreal Canadiens Play Their Biggest Game of Season Tonight

The Montreal Canadiens got off to an 0-5-0 record and it hasn’t gotten much better.

They current sit 32nd in the 32 team league with a 7-24-5 record after 36 games. They still have to play 46 more games this season, but we all know they will only be playing 46 more games.

In other words, the playoffs are not happening this season. Blame injuries, blame roster construction, blame whatever you want, the Canadiens are far from the postseason and will definitely not be making it this year after sneaking in each of the past two seasons.

If the team isn’t going to make the playoffs, and you know that well before the midpoint of the season, you want them to get the best draft pick possible. The lower the team finishes in the standings, the better their chances at drafting first overall. Yes, there is a lottery and even if they finish last there is no guarantee to pick first overall.

But, the lower the team finishes in the standings, the better their odds are and even if they don’t win the lottery, they would guarantee a top three overall pick if they remain in last place in the standings.

The NHL has a draft lottery system in place where the worst 11 teams have a chance of landing the first overall pick and the worst 12 teams in the regular season have a chance of jumping up to second overall. So the team that has the worst record could lose both lotteries and end up selecting third overall.

The Canadiens are well placed when it comes to draft positioning. But they have a great challenger for the worst overall record.

That challenger is the 31st ranked Arizona Coyotes who will host the Canadiens this evening for one of two meetings between the two teams this season.

The Coyotes record of 8-24-4 puts them one point ahead of the Canadiens with the same number of games played. So, the Canadiens could find themselves one point ahead of the Coyotes after tonight’s game or three points back.

It is the classic four point game, just in this case fans will be cheering for a loss. When it comes to lottery odds, it is the biggest game the Canadiens have on their schedule.