MONTREAL 鈥� The Montreal Canadiens are closing in on a playoff spot following a six-game winning streak.
They don鈥檛 intend to let up until the 鈥榅鈥� is firmly etched beside their name in the standings.
Sam Montembeault made 35 saves as the Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Tuesday, extending their lead to eight points for the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big one in the standings, but we haven鈥檛 clinched crap yet,鈥� defenceman Kaiden Guhle said. 鈥淪till have four games left, I don鈥檛 think anyone鈥檚 going to take their foot off the gas.
鈥淛ob鈥檚 not finished.鈥�
Montreal (39-30-9, 87 points) built the eight-point cushion over the outside-looking-in Red Wings, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets, with one more game played.
The four trailing teams can reach a maximum of 89 points, but the Rangers have an advantage in the regulation wins tiebreaker, meaning the Canadiens need 90 to officially be out of reach. That could change by the time Montreal next takes the ice Friday in Ottawa against the Senators.
鈥淐an鈥檛 speak too soon,鈥� Montembeault said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e put ourselves in a good position.鈥�
The Canadiens haven鈥檛 reached the post-season since 2021, when games were played in mostly empty buildings during their run to the Stanley Cup final. Players are eager to know what it鈥檚 like to skate before a raucous Bell Centre come playoff time.
"It's pretty much in the back of everybody's mind,鈥� Cole Caufield said. 鈥淏ut now for us, we got to get there, and we've been working for this all year, so you can't come up short now."
The Canadiens dwelled near the NHL鈥檚 basement the past three seasons, finishing 32nd, 28th and 28th in the overall standings.
The start to this season wasn鈥檛 pretty either. They held the league鈥檚 worst record on Nov. 15, and even after a remarkable holiday run saved their season, they trailed the second wild-card spot by six points before the 4 Nations Face-Off break from Feb. 12 to 20.
Since then, Montreal is 14-4-4 with the league鈥檚 third-best points percentage (.727) after rattling off its first six-game winning streak since March 2017.
Is head coach Martin St. Louis blown away by his team鈥檚 success?
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know about that word,鈥� he said, with a cracking voice after post-game celebrations. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the progression our team has had, ups and downs, but a lot of progress. Showed a lot of resilience.
鈥淚鈥檓 blown away by our progress, but I wouldn鈥檛 say I鈥檓 blown away by our results. I鈥檓 proud of the guys.鈥�
Tuesday鈥檚 win, however, wasn鈥檛 their best. Montreal鈥檚 habit of struggling to start games reached a new level when the Red Wings poured on 23 shots in the first period, the most the Canadiens have allowed in a period this season.
Montembeault stopped all but one.
鈥淗e bailed us out big time,鈥� said Josh Anderson, who scored the third period winner. 鈥淗e's been incredible all year for us. You need a goalie like that if you know you want to play those meaningful games in the stretch."
Montembeault reached 30 wins for the first time in his career. In his last five starts 鈥� all wins 鈥� he has a .939 save percentage and 1.60 goals-against average.
"He's been our lifeline all season, all year,鈥� Caufield said. 鈥淲e trust him back there. We counted on him in every situation. He bailed us out in the first for sure.鈥�
HERE COMES DEMIDOV
Earlier Tuesday, the Canadiens signed top prospect Ivan Demidov 鈥� last year鈥檚 fifth-overall pick 鈥� to a three-year entry-level deal.
The move came an hour after Kontinental Hockey League club SKA Saint Petersburg made the surprising announcement that it was mutually terminating Demidov鈥檚 contract.
Excitement grew around Montreal鈥檚 locker room when players learned the news.
"Everybody's pretty fired up,鈥� Caufield said. 鈥淐an't wait for him to get here."
It wasn鈥檛 clear when exactly Demidov would join the team, but he鈥檚 expected to feature in a game or two before the end of the regular season.
The 19-year-old Russian led SKA in scoring with 49 points (19 goals, 30 assists) in 65 games, setting a new KHL record for under-20 players despite having inconsistent ice time.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
