The Montreal Canadiens went into the 2018-19 season expected to finish near the bottom. They’d traded away two of the top goal-scorers on the team and done little to address the defence. But with neither a long-term injury to Shea Weber nor a surprisingly poor start from Carey Price able to knock them to the canvas, it was quickly apparent that the team was going to battle for a playoff spot.
In the end, that fight came up just short of a post-season berth, two points away from the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, though with a higher total than three of the playoff clubs in the West.