TORONTO -- Nick Suzuki isn’t looking for any outside help for his Montreal Canadiens to finally clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
If the Canadiens gain a total of two points in their final two games they will qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2021. And what better stage to seal the deal than the raucous Bell Centre in Montreal, where the atmosphere is guaranteed to be festive, to say the least, when they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday (7 p.m. ET: Prime, RDS, CHSN).
“It’s a huge opportunity,” the Canadiens captain said after a 1-0 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. “And, you know, I love that we can control our own path to the playoffs, so I’m not really too worried about the other games. Whatever happens, happens.
“We can go out Monday in front of our fans and do what we want to do. That’s what you want.”
The Canadiens gained a precious point against the Maple Leafs to give them 88 on the season, eliminating the Detroit Red Wings from playoff contention in the process.
The only team that can catch Montreal for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have 85 points.
The Blue Jackets won both games of a home-and-home set with Washington Capitals this weekend, winning 7-0 at Nationwide Arena on Saturday and 4-1 at Capital One Arena on Sunday.
Each team has two games left. The Canadiens currently own the first tiebreaker, which is regulation wins (29/28).
But what Columbus does won’t matter if the Canadiens can get a win Monday or a total of two points between that game and their home game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday, their regular-season finale.
The Canadiens had a chance to punch their ticket this weekend with back-to-back road games against the Ottawa Senators on Friday and the Maple Leafs on Saturday. They weren’t able to seal the deal on either front.
First came a 5-2 loss against the Senators, a game in which Montreal was outshot 14-5 in the first period. Twenty-four hours later, the first-period margin was 10-2 for a combined 24-7 across the opening period of playoff-clinching opportunities.
Not the starts they were looking for.
Fortunately for Montreal, the heroics of rookie goalie Jakub Dobes, who made 34 saves in regulation against Toronto, kept the game 0-0 into overtime. Then, after a spectacular save by Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz off Suzuki in the extra period, Mitch Marner came the other way and scored just 36 seconds into overtime.
Given that the Canadiens were outshot 35-15 in the game, Dobes was the main reason Montreal was tied on the scoreboard through regulation and was able to get one point.
“It was fun,” he said. “What was it … ‘Hockey Night in Canada?’ It was pretty cool.
“I was excited to play. I wanted, we wanted to finish it and clinch the spot. Hopefully the hockey gods will be with us tomorrow. Disappointed we didn’t close it out but we are a good team. I think we’ll finish it off.”
Indeed, a regulation win against Toronto would have seen the Canadiens make the playoffs in an 82-game season for the first time since 2017. Their previous two appearances, those coming in 2020 and 2021, were during truncated schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, they enter Monday controlling their own destiny.
“We just have to stay the course,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “Play the game that’s in front of you, like we did tonight, and things will work out.
“I’m really proud of the way the guys played tonight, off a back-to-back. It’s a big point for our group.”
One that creeps them one step closer to the playoffs.
