PHILADELPHIA — The Montreal Canadiens arrive at Xfinity Mobile Arena this Tuesday for Game 82 with a singular mission: secure at least one point to keep their hopes of Round 1 home-ice advantage alive. Following Monday’s results, the path is clear—the Canadiens will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round, but the location of Game 1 remains a toss-up.
The Home-Ice Math
Currently tied with the Bolts in the Atlantic Division, Montreal’s fate is partially in their own hands, but they need help from New York later this week. Because Tampa Bay holds the tiebreaker, Montreal must outpace them in points.
- To clinch home ice: Montreal needs a win Tuesday and a Tampa Bay loss on Wednesday, OR an OT/SO loss Tuesday combined with a Lightning regulation loss on Wednesday.
- The Spoiler: If the Lightning beat the Rangers on Wednesday, they clinch home ice regardless of what happens in Philadelphia tonight.
Flyers Fighting for Pride
The Philadelphia Flyers enter Tuesday’s contest in a much different headspace. After edging the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout Monday night, the Flyers officially punched the final ticket to the Eastern Conference postseason. They are locked into a first-round «Battle of Pennsylvania» against the Pittsburgh Penguins, meaning tonight’s game has no bearing on their standings. Fans should expect the Flyers to potentially rest key starters to gear up for the playoffs.
Chasing History: Hutson and Caufield
While the team focus is on the standings, two Canadiens are on the verge of individual greatness:
- Lane Hutson: With just one assist tonight, the young phenom would break Larry Robinson’s legendary franchise record for assists in a season by a defenseman.
- Cole Caufield: The sniper enters the finale just one goal behind Nathan MacKinnon in a blistering race for the Maurice «Rocket» Richard Trophy.
On the Flyers’ side, all eyes are on 19-year-old Porter Martone. Since debuting on March 29, the Michigan State product has tallied eight points in eight games and looks to extend his five-game point streak.