The Canadiens have officially qualified for the playoffs

Well, it was only a matter of time before Montreal got that little “x” next to its name, as the team moved ahead of the Sabres in the standings last night—a team that had already qualified due to a higher number of regular-season wins.

Martin St-Louis's squad has thus achieved its first goal with six games remaining, compared to last year when the team had to wait until the final game to secure its playoff berth.

It will therefore be interesting to see how team management handles player usage for the remainder of the season.

While the Canadiens are certain to participate in the postseason by (likely) finishing in one of the top three spots in the Atlantic Division, the team can aim for first place in its division and thus secure home-ice advantage for at least the first two rounds, in addition to facing an easier opponent on paper.

However, with it being an Olympic year, resting certain players ahead of the playoffs could be beneficial for some skaters.

This includes players who saw significant action at the Olympics, such as Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, as well as energy players like Brendan Gallagher or Josh Anderson, who could use some rest to recover from minor injuries.

One might also wonder if players like Suzuki, who is chasing his 100th point this season, will want to take this kind of break between now and the end of the season.

Furthermore, having already qualified, the Habs will be in a better position to experiment when Michael Hage arrives; he is expected to join the team late next week and could play one to three games before the season ends.

What is clear is that this year, the Canadiens will have the luxury of being in control heading into the end of the season and deciding what is best for the organization.

In short, expect a great atmosphere tonight at the Bell Centre with the Habs' official qualification and Cole Caufield's 50th goal on the line.

Overtime

As I mentioned earlier, the Habs have achieved their first goal, but now the team must prove it's capable of playing playoff hockey. Especially given the current situation where the Eastern Conference is relatively wide open and the way the team has been playing lately, we shouldn't be hoping for a miracle for the Habs to have a long spring—just a continuation of what we've seen over the past three weeks.