The 2023 NHL Entry Draft is shaping up to be a critical one for the Habs. Accordingly, we present our first-round rankings for June’s festivities, beginning with the top eight prospects and how they might fit in with the Canadiens.
The Habs came out on the wrong side of a back-and-forth affair on Tuesday night that was ultimately decided by the unlucky bounce off a skate in the final minute of play to allow Ottawa to skate away with the 5-4 victory.
The Habs got some secondary scoring on Tuesday night led by a pair of goals from Rafael Harvey-Pinard but it wasn’t enough as Detroit skated away with a 4-3 overtime victory.
Montreal’s struggles against Florida continued on Thursday night. A five-goal second period for the Panthers put the game out of hand before things got particularly physical. In the end, Florida got a bit closer to a playoff spot with a 6-2 victory.
On P.K. Subban Night at the Bell Centre on Thursday, it was another electrifying talent that made a big impact for the Habs as a pair of goals from Cole Caufield paced them to a 4-3 victory over Nashville.
After securing their first win of 2023 on Saturday, the Habs followed it up with one of their poorer performances of the season on Monday night. Seattle was able to pot three goals in the first period and that was more than enough as they picked up the 4-0 victory.
While the focus right now is on the prospects at the top of the draft, there’s still a reasonable chance that at least one of their selections falls to the back of the lottery. With that in mind, here’s a look at three possible picks in that range.
The Habs returned home on Thursday following a tough road trip. However, things weren’t much better at the Bell Centre as Montreal couldn’t muster up much offensively, falling 4-1 to the Rangers.
The second half of Montreal’s trip to Florida saw them take on the Panthers on Thursday night. Once again, it was a struggle as Aleksander Barkov had a hat-trick in the first period as Florida skated to an easy 7-2 win.
The Habs were a bit sluggish coming out of the holiday break and that’s never a good thing against Tampa Bay. The Lightning came to play in this one, controlling the game throughout en route to a 4-1 victory.