Mitch Marner as defenseman against the Habs tonight : Craig Berube opens the door

What seems to be understood is that Marner will not be a defenseman per se tonight. However, it’s really hard to rule out the possibility of seeing him take at least a few shifts on the blue line.

We’ve already seen him do that in the past, after all, and he also does it on the power play for the Maple Leafs (even if it’s not the same game, we get it).

We know Marner has solid defensive instincts, which means he can fill in on the blue line in case of extreme emergency. That being said, we understand that it’s not optimal… and it could smile at the Habs, that.

Because with the Blue Jackets’ win, the Habs need to win in 60 minutes at most tonight if they want to secure their spot in the playoffs.

Let’s recall that the team would still have excellent chances of making the playoffs even if they lose tonight… but with the Blue Jackets not losing anymore, it would be a good thing for the Habs to settle it once and for all against the Maple Leafs in a few hours.

This would allow the guys to breathe until the start of the playoffs… and most importantly, it would allow Ivan Demidov to make his debut in a context where there will be much less pressure.

Overtime

– The Islanders are officially eliminated.

– Tough break for the Oilers: Mattias Ekholm may have played his last game in 2024-25.

– This statistic is still just as surreal.

– The Yankees need to put an end to the Marcus Stroman experiment.

– Do we like it or not?