MONTREAL

Daily Hab-it: Thursday Morning playoff check-up

By Arpon Basu
Published Thursday, March 31, 2011 2:07AM EDT Last Updated Saturday, May 19, 2012 3:10AM EDT

Montreal Canadiens players react on the bench after a goal by the Boston Bruins during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Boston Thursday, March 24, 2011. The Bruins won 7-0. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Text:

Your Canadiens losing 6-2 in Carolina did not put them at risk of missing the playoffs. Not yet, anyway.

But it does make it a possibility, whereas a victory would have removed all doubt.

So the Hurricanes get added to this list this morning while the fifth-place Tampa Bay Lightning can effectively remove themselves with a victory at home tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But even though the Canadiens are still in a strong position to qualify for a chance to play past next weekend, the recent Jekyll and Hyde act this team has put on is of major concern.

Allowing six goals in Carolina followed outings in Boston where they allowed seven and in New York where they allowed six. Sprinkled in between was that 8-1 outburst in Minnesota.

The difference is that the one road game where the Canadiens actually showed up was the only one that wasn't a four-pointer.

The game in New York gave the Canadiens a shot at securing sixth place in the conference, and they were down 5-0 after one period of play. The game in Boston was a final shot at competing for the division title, and it was 3-0 after one. And the game in Carolina was a chance to really put any thought of missing the playoffs to bed, and it was 2-0 after one.

Granted, I thought the Canadiens played well for the most part in what was an extremely fast-paced first period in Carolina, but two big mistakes wound up on the wrong guy's stick, and Jeff Skinner made them pay. Considering the Canadiens had scored three times on an opposing goalie just three times in their previous 10 games, the chances of overcoming the 2-0 deficit were slim.

The other side of this equation is that the Canadiens have been pretty good defensively on home ice of late, allowing just seven goals in their last four games.

Obviously, the guy who bears the brunt of this disparity is Carey Price, and that's just the sad reality of goaltending. No one would blame him for the goals he allowed in New York or Boston, and maybe he could have had Skinner's first goal in Carolina but there's no way his teammates can allow such a dangerous shooter to have time in such a dangerous area of the ice.

Still, here are the facts: Price's last four starts at home have resulted in just a 1-2-1 record, but he has a 1.49 goals against average and .950 save percentage. Price's last three starts on the road have all resulted in him getting pulled, and left him with an 0-3-0 record, 8.24 GAA and .803 save percentage.

Offensively, well, the Canadiens haven't really discriminated between the Bell Centre and enemy rinks. After scoring at least three goals in seven straight from Feb. 22 to March 8, they've now done so just three times in 11 games since (not counting empty-netters or "goals" given for a shootout win), and all three times were on the road.

Looking at the Canadiens schedule, they will have to fix this propensity for defensive sloppiness on the road in a hurry because three of their final four games are away from the Bell Centre. And while all three are against non-playoff teams, the Devils, Senators and Maple Leafs will not exactly roll over a die.

To guarantee a playoff spot if the Hurricanes manage to run the table, the Canadiens need to win three out of their remaining four games, but two should probably do it.

Now read what I wrote in the Morning Playoff Check-up just about a year ago:

"There are four games left in the Canadiens regular season, and two wins should assure them of a playoff spot."

Last season at this point, the Canadiens were also in sixth place with four games left to play and a four-point cushion over ninth place. A playoff spot appeared all but assured then as well, but we had to wait until the 82nd game of the season to see if they would get in.

With a five-point margin for error this time around, are we in for a similar ride?

Tampa Bay, 5th place, 41-24-11, 93 points (6 shootout wins)

Last night: Did not play

Next game: Tonight at home to Pittsburgh

6 games remaining, 3 against playoff teams

Home (2) – 3/31 Pit; 4/8 Fla.

Away (4) – 4/2 Min, 4/3 Chi; 4/5 Buf; 4/9 Car

Montreal, 6th place, 41-30-7, 89 points (3 shootout wins)

Last night: Lost 6-2 at Carolina

Next game: Saturday at New Jersey

4 games remaining, 1 against playoff teams

Home (1) – 4/5 Chi.