The Canadian was officially eliminated from the series

It was only a matter of time, and now it has been officially settled. For the third straight spring, there will be no playoffs in Montreal.

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An exclusion that Martin St. Louis and his team suddenly learned: a 7-4 loss at the hands of the Lightning, at Bell Center Ice Rink.

This is the fifth time in seven years that Montrealers have been banned from the big spring ball. This is unprecedented in the agency's rich history.

• Listen to the interview with Luc Dupont, Professor in the Department of Communications at the University of Ottawa, via Alexandre Dube's microphone QUB :

The situation would be worse if the NHL did not admit 24 teams into the 2020 playoff bubble and if the Habs were not part of the Canadian Division, by far the weakest of the four divisions for the 2021 season.

But good. In fact, that's three consecutive exclusions that the Canadian's supporters will have to endure. Just as it did from 1999 to 2001. And just as it did more than a century ago, from 1920 to 1922.

I was brought back to earth

Much has been made of the fact that the Canadian was able to take on the best teams on the circuit. Just as we've been buzzing about the latest appearances of Cayden Primeau, the Habs' elected player of the month.

Friday evening, as part of Lightning's visit, all these beautiful people were returned to Earth. A brutal fall considering the end result.

Although the Habs tried to come back late in the third period, we were far from victories against the Panthers and Avalanche or close defeats against the Oilers, Bruins and Maple Leafs.

St. Louis scored the first goal, and after that they weren't really in the game.

Especially in the second half, in which the visitors fired 20 shots on goal. Arriving in the city at 2 a.m. after the win in Toronto, the Lightning players completed a run of three games in four evenings.

However, they were the ones who seemed to have the most legs on the ice at the bell post. It must be said that Montreal's defense was quickly undermined.

The victim of a questionable check from Nikita Kucherov, Kayden Guhle left the game in the fifth minute of play with an upper-body injury.

Goalkeeper in the American League

As a result, Arber Cicaj, Jordan Harris, and Jayden Strobel saw a lot more action than usual. Too much even. Especially Harris with 23 minutes and 20 seconds. Not to mention that out of the Canadian's 16 penalty minutes, 14 were for defenders. Nothing eases the task of the hexagram turned into a quintet.

In front of the net, Primo realized that the Lightning were not the Ducks, Blue Jackets or Flyers, teams they had won their last three home games against.

The striking force of Kucherov and his friends is another story. Especially when things are a bit slow and some goals make you feel frustrated.

To make matters worse, the Canadian was beaten by the MLS goalie. 29-year-old Matt Tomkins has never appeared in an NHL game before this season. He now has two wins in four starts…both against the Habs.

Joel Armia thwarted him on two occasions. With its number 15^H And 16^H Campaign Goals The Finn equaled the personal record he set in the 2019-2020 season.

Moreover, he is having an interesting run of scoring five goals in his last five matches.

♦ The Canadian could still get 84 points. However, the Capitals and Red Wings, who currently have 82 points, will face each other on April 9. Inevitably, one of the two teams will add two points to its score. Since both the Capitals and Wings will have more wins than the Hab, they will have priority in the tiebreaker.