Canadiens clinch Stanley Cup Playoff berth for 2nd straight season

The Montreal Canadiens clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season on Sunday.

The Canadiens (45-22-10) qualified with the Detroit Red Wings’ 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Montreal finished as the second wild card in the Eastern Conference last season before losing its first-round series against the Washington Capitals in five games.

The Canadiens, who had their eight-game winning streak end with a 3-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, are tied with the Buffalo Sabres for second in the Atlantic Division with 100 points, two behind the Tampa Bay Lightning. Buffalo holds the tiebreaker over Montreal

Center Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens with 95 points (27 goals, 68 assists) in 77 games, and forward Cole Caufield ranks second in the NHL with 49 goals, trailing only Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (51). Caufield is second for Montreal with 85 points, and defenseman Lane Hutson ranks third with 74 points (12 goals, 62 assists).

Rookie forwards Ivan Demidov (60 points; 17 goals, 43 assists) and Oliver Kapanen (37 points; 22 goals, 15 assists) rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in scoring for the Canadiens.

Jakub Dobes leads all rookie goalies with 27 wins in 39 games (38 starts). He has a 2.73 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.

Montreal is averaging the fifth-most goals per game in the League (3.45).