Looking to win their ninth straight game on Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens officially clinched a spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday… just without actually having taken the ice.
After beating the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday night, in the first half of a home-and-home, back-to-back set of games, the Canadiens found themselves above the Buffalo Sabres, in second place in the Atlantic Division, despite both teams holding 100 points. The Sabres had oddly already clinched, but the Habs had not as a result of the league’s tie-breaking procedure. Having played fewer games, the Habs, who will climb into equal games-played footing tonight, own the higher points percentage (P%).
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However, the Sabres have 38 regulation wins (the second tie-breaker), putting them out of reach of teams currently out of the playoff picture, like the Detroit Red Wings (29) and Philadelphia Flyers (24), who, heading into action could still theoretically tie their 100 points, each with 88 currently. While the Flyers (76 games played) can’t catch the Canadiens, who own 32 regulation wins, the Red Wings (77) could have… before losing 5-4 to the Minnesota Wild this afternoon, leading to the Habs officially punching their ticket to the postseason.
The Wings, now at 40-29-8, find themselves on the outside looking in, with five games left to play, when, as recently as Jan. 25, they had been in first in the Atlantic Division and in a tie in terms of points (69) with the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the entire Eastern Conference. They’ve gone 8-13-3 since that point to put their playoff hopes in serious danger, without having made the postseason since 2016.
In the Wild win, the Wings erased a 4-1 third-period deficit to pull even, only for Patrick Kane, who scored the game-tying goal with just over five minutes remaining, to take a tripping penalty away from the play soon thereafter. Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov scored his third of the game on the ensuing power-play to help secure the 5-4 victory.
The Canadiens face the Devils again at 7 p.m. at the Bell Centre. The Wings, in their bid to earn a wild-card spot, next face the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are tied with them in the standings with 88 points through 77 games, at home on Tuesday.
Of note, the Boston Bruins, who hold down the first-wild-card spot, with a 43-26-8 record and 94 points in 77 games, can still catch the 100-point Habs for one of the top three seeds in the Atlantic. So too can the Ottawa Senators at 39-27-10, with 88 points through 76 games (33 regulation wins). Ultimately, a lot remains to be decided in terms of the Canadiens’ playoff destiny, just not whether they will make them. They will, as they aim to continue to improve on their first-round finish last season.
