Stanley Cup playoffs: Get to know the Montreal Canadiens

Cassandra Negley

Stanley Cup playoffs: Get to know the Montreal Canadiens image

A capsule look at the Montreal Canadiens ahead of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Canadiens face the Ottawa Senators in the first round, starting Wednesday at Bell Centre.

MORE: First-round playoff schedules | Fatal flaws for all 16 teams

Season record: 50-22-10, 110 points

Standing: First in Atlantic Division, second seed in Eastern Conference

Clinched: March 28

Coach: Michel Therrien (regular season: 337-246-23-68; playoffs: 32-27)

Captain: Vacant

Alternates: Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Markov, P.K. Subban

SERIES PREVIEWS: Rangers-Penguins | Canadiens-Senators | Capitals-Islanders | Lightning-Red Wings

Players to watch: Max Pacioretty led the team in goals with 37 and in points with 67. He had 10 game-winning goals, including a power-play goal with 2:01 remaining in a game against the Florida Panthers to clinch the playoff spot and temporarily take back the league’s top record. Pacioretty has an upper-body injury, likely a concussion. His status for the first round is in question.  

P.K. Subban led the team in assists with 45 and is second in points (60). Tomas Plekanec has 59 points.

Goaltender: Carey Price set a Candiens record with 42 single-season victories, passing Jacques Plante and Ken Dryden. He leads the league in all four major categories: save percentage (.934), goals-against average (1.950), wins (43) and shutouts (9).

Playoff history: The Canadiens are an annual lock in the run for the Cup. This is the 82nd time the Habs made it to the playoffs in their 97-year history. This is their three consecutive playoff berth. 

Championships: The Canadiens' last Cup came in 1993. They're not hurting for hardware, though, with 23 Stanley Cups and two more NHL championships. They had a four-year championship stretch from 1975-76 to '78-79.

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First-round schedule (* - if necessary)

April 15, Canadiens 4, Senators 3
April 17, 7 p.m. at Montreal; CBC, TVA Sports, CNBC
April 19, 7 p.m. at Ottawa; CBC, TVA Sports, NBCSN
April 22, 7 p.m. at Ottawa; CBC, TVA Sports, USA
*April 24, TBD at Montreal; CBC
*April 26, TBD at Ottawa; CBC
*April 28, TBD at Montreal; CBC

SERIES PREVIEWS: Canucks-Flames | Ducks-Jets | Blues-Wild | Predators-Blackhawks

Cassandra Negley is a contributor at Sporting News. She’s currently the sports editor at the Thomasville Times-Enterprise in Georgia and writes for the Mets blog, Rising Apple. You can follow her on Twitter, @casnegley

Cassandra Negley