On the Fly, theScore's NHL roundtable series, continues. This week, editors Josh Gold-Smith and Ian McLaren discuss what the Montreal Canadiens should do about Carey Price, and project how many teams north of the border will qualify for the playoffs.
Should the Canadiens shut Price down?
McLaren: Failure isn't an option in Montreal. As such, the Canadiens should do everything they can to regroup and make a push for a playoff spot, especially if they're not going to use a coaching change as the impetus for improvement.
That's likely not going to happen with Mike Condon or Ben Scrivens manning the crease, so if the reigning NHL MVP is ready and able to contribute down the stretch, that's what he should do. As bleak as things look now, this team won 19 of 27 games to begin the season, and anything can happen in the postseason.
No Price, however, means no chance of winning.
Gold-Smith: Yes, they should. While it may have appeared reasonable for Price to return earlier in the season, we all know how that turned out, and there's no reason for him to play now.
Montreal is six points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference - which doesn't seem so bad - except the Canadiens need to leapfrog four teams just to make the playoffs. Even if they do that, there's no timetable for Price's return, and even if there eventually is, why not just take a lottery pick and regroup with Price in top form next fall?
The pressure to win in Montreal is unlike any other NHL city, but if Toronto can learn to be patient, anything's possible.
How many Canadian teams will make the playoffs?
Gold-Smith: One, at best.
Connor McDavid is back carrying the Oilers, but they dug themselves too deep a hole in his absence and have to pass too many teams to get there.
The Jets are likely going to be sellers at the trade deadline, and if so, their season is a write-off. The Flames have at least a game in hand on many of their Western Conference rivals, but Calgary has four competitive teams in its path.
The Leafs are rightfully focused on the future, while the Senators and Canadiens are in free-fall.
That leaves the Canucks, who are basically the great Canadian hope at this point. Vancouver is four points back of the inconsistent Nashville Predators for the final spot in the West, and although the Canucks also need to pass the Arizona Coyotes and Minnesota Wild, that isn't inconceivable if they address some of their needs before Feb. 29.
McLaren: Zero. Zilch. None. Nada.
Toronto head coach Mike Babcock was once asked to determine the top teams in the NHL. As the story goes, he looked at the standings, circled the top five teams in terms of goal differential, and said, "There you go."
Heading into Friday's action, no Canadian team was slotted in a playoff spot, and all seven had recorded negative goal differentials.
With more than half the season serving as a sample size, it's clear these teams aren't very good.
Montreal appeared to be a virtual lock through the first two months of the season, while Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver have all taken steps backward after qualifying for the postseason last spring.
All of their futures will be determined by whether they're buying or selling before the trade deadline, but the outlook is bleak.
Dare we suggest Connor McDavid's squad is Canada's best hope?
