Thanks to their loser point against the Edmonton Oilers last night, the Montreal Canadiens will be a playoff team in the Scotiabank North Division (TM), while the Calgary Flames, the Vancouver Canucks, and the Ottawa Senators will be left on the outside looking in.
Ottawa knew this was a rebuilding year from the outset, while the Canucks had an everything-that-can-possibly-go-wrong season for a team that was pretty shallow to begin with. But the Calgary Flames reasonably expected to make the playoffs, or at least to come close. Instead they’re confronted with a lot of tough decisions, such as who they’ll trade Johnny Gaudreau to and who they’ll replace Johnny Gaudreau with when they trade Johnny Gaudreau.