Canadiens secure the final playoff position in the concluding game of the regular season.
- ejsportsmedia
- Apr 17
- 2 min read
Kaiden Guhle netted two goals as the Montreal Canadiens secured the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference with a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night, concluding their regular season. To eliminate Columbus from playoff contention, the Canadiens required at least one point. They are set to compete against the Washington Capitals, the top seed in both the Metropolitan Division and the conference, in the opening round.
"We have faith in one another, and we won't simply concede to the top seed, so I am eager for this opportunity," stated center Nick Suzuki, who concluded the season with a personal best of 89 points, the highest for a Canadiens player since Pierre Turgeon recorded 96 points in the 1995-96 season. Suzuki broke a tie late in the second period with his 30th goal and also contributed an assist. Jake Evans added an empty-net goal, while Sam Montembeault made 27 saves, enabling Montreal to finish with a record of 40-31-11 and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Wednesday's victory marked a significant turnaround for the Canadiens, who were near the bottom of the overall standings on December 1 with a record of 8-13-3. Montreal had finished eighth in the Atlantic Division for the past three seasons.
"I take pride in this achievement because it reflects not just one year or one team. This has been a collective effort over three to four years of hard work," remarked forward Brendan Gallagher. "I am thrilled for these players as they will get to experience playoff hockey in this city."
For Carolina, Taylor Hall and Tyson Jost scored, while Pyotr Kochetkov made 17 saves. The playoff-bound Hurricanes opted to rest several key players and will face New Jersey in the first round. Montreal had previously missed chances to secure their playoff spot in their last three games, suffering a regulation loss to Ottawa, followed by an overtime defeat to Toronto and a shootout loss against Chicago.
