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As the end of the season approaches, some teams cannot wait to get this season over and done with and move on to the next season while other teams, like the Tampa Bay Lightning, are getting ready for the playoffs. Oftentimes, those teams get even better when gearing up for the Spring dance and that’s the case for Tampa.

John Cooper’s men had little mercy for the Canadiens last night and a dominant second period in which they scored four unanswered goals allowed them to skate away with two important points in the race to the playoffs. Not that their participation is in jeopardy, but they would like to take the third spot in the Atlantic division from the Maple Leafs. Toronto only has a two-point lead as things stand, but they do have a game in hand.

Meanwhile, this 7-4 defeat has officially eliminated the Canadiens from the playoffs. Not that Montreal didn’t already know they weren’t going to punch their tickets to the postseason for the third season in a row, but the official elimination still stings. Martin St.Louis conceded that mentally, it was tough to be eliminated, but he didn’t feel like he was attending a funeral. For the coach, there have been so many improvements this season that he sees it as a celebration of life.

After being dominant in his last few outings, Cayden Primeau couldn’t do the same against the Bolts. The defeat isn’t on him though, there are plenty of goals that he could do nothing against, and he’s not responsible for the lack of defense coverage. Leaving Steven Stamkos unmarked right by the net is nothing short of a recipe for disaster and it happened too often last night. Still, St.Louis admitted that he considered sending Sam Montembeault out for the third frame, but he didn’t want to put his goaltender in to face a four-minute power play without a warm-up. The coach felt Primeau did well in the last 20 minutes, he battled back just like the rest of the team.

The work of the defensive corps wasn’t helped by the fact they lost Kaiden Guhle early in the game when Nikita Kucherov gave him a questionable hit right by the boards. A bloodied Guhle left the ice, never to return. Down to five blue liners, some had to handle a lot more minutes than they were used to. Jordan Harris for instance was bumped up to the first pairing with Mike Matheson and he spent over 24 minutes on the ice. To make matters even worse, defensemen took a lot of penalties on the night as well, further emphasizing the issue.

Amongst all the negativity, a little light shone; Joel Armia had a two-goal night. By scoring his 15th and 16th of the season, the big Finn tied the goal total he had in the best season of his career in 2019-2020. Because of the pandemic, he had only played 58 games that season, and this year, he’s scored 16 goals in 59 games thanks to two stints in the AHL with the Laval Rocket. Armia was in for a rude awakening at the end of training camp, unable to hold on to his chair (as St.Louis would say), he was put on waivers and sent to Laval after going unclaimed.
He could have sulked, but instead, he put on his working boots and rolled up his sleeves. In the eight games he played in Laval, he put up nine points. This morning, the team announced he was their nominee for the Bill Masterton trophy this year. The award is given each year to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.

Finally, there was a very weird moment in the game during the third frame. About halfway through it, Arber Xhekaj landed a legal hit on Brandon Hegel who was then hit by Steven Stmakos who was coming at full speed. Somehow, Michael Eyssimont concluded Xhekaj was at fault and jumped him. The linesmen immediately separated them, but the referees sent them both to the box for roughing. Needless to say, it wasn’t the finest hour of NHL referring.

Arber Xhekaj got jumped because Hagel got run over by his own teammate pic.twitter.com/rgCDVac42z

— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) April 5, 2024

The Canadiens will now host the Leafs at the Bell Centre on Saturday night. It remains to be seen if Kaiden Guhle will be good to go. If he’s not, Jonathan Kovacevic should draw back into the line-up. I do not believe the Habs’ brass would call up a defenseman from Laval as the Rocket is trying to qualify for the playoffs. Experiencing the post-season would be a beneficial experience for the organization’s prospects.

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