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Canadiens clinch playoff spot in the East, Hawks earn a point

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Tuesday night was a rough night for any Montreal Canadiens haters out there. The Habs clinched their spot in this year’s playoffs by beating the defending Stanley Cup champs 2-1 in overtime. As if securing a playoff spot wasn’t bad enough for the anti-Habs contingent, Montreal was sent to the second season with the power of PK Subban’s 3rd game winning goal of the season (and his ensuing celebration).

For over 60 minutes the game was a beautiful goaltending exhibition. Quebec native Corey Crawford returned home for his first game in the Bell Centre and had a great showing. On the other end of the rink, Carey Price had 42 saves to help deliver the victory for the Habs. Cue the “Price for Hart” chants coming from North American francophones.

The game was not without its fair bit of controversy. With the game in overtime, Jonathan Toews took a tripping penalty on the forecheck when he brought down rookie PK Subban about 200 feet from the Chicago goal. Replays show that Toews got his stick into Subban’s skates and the officials got the call right—but the officials were late to make the call. Predictably, the Habs scored on the ensuing power play to punch their ticket to the playoffs. After the game, Joel Quenneville was not happy with the call:

“It was a tough ending for sure. I 100% dispute that call at the end… he wasn’t calling it and Jonny (Toews) didn’t touch his feet so, it was a tough call.”

Penalty or not, it was a tough way for the Hawks to lose a game they needed to win. The single point earned for the overtime loss pushes them to 93 points; but with the Stars winning at home against the Blue Jackets, the Blackhawks cushion shrinks to a mere two points for the final playoff spot in the West. They’ll play a huge game at home against the St. Louis Blues tomorrow night before their regular season ending home-and-home series against the Detroit Red Wings. Unfortunately for the Hawks, the Stars finish the season with a pair of games against the lowly Colorado Avalanche and another against the Minnesota Wild. Advantage: Stars.

Things are looking much better for the Canadiens. Only a week ago, they were slumping and had both the Sabres and Rangers breathing down their necks. Fast-forward to tonight, the Habs became the 9th team to clinch a playoff spot. Earning a playoff spot is impressive regardless of circumstances with the parity in the league these days, but given the Habs’ injuries, it’s even more impressive. Where would they be if they had any one of their trio of injured defensemen? Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges, or Jaro Spacek certainly would help in a big way if they had them for most of the season.

Looking forward, there’s a very good chance Montreal will earn a first round match-up against their bitter rivals from Boston if they can hang onto the 6th spot. If that series comes to fruition, the big winners aren’t the Canadiens or Bruins—it’ll be the fans.