Yesterday was a momentous day for Leafs fans. Not only did their 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins keep them in sole possession of last place (thereby having the highest probability of Auston Matthews), but it did something else quite hilarious.
You see, while Boston defeated the Leafs, the Montreal Canadiens were busy getting throttled by the New York Rangers in regulation. The Bruins improve to 88 points, while the Habs now max out at 86. The other two teams fighting for a playoff spot- the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings- have 85 points. But the Flyers and Wings play one more game against one another, meaning one of them has to get to no less than 87 points.
In simpler terms: the Habs are mathematically eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Sure, people may mock us here at PPP Heavy Kitten Manufacturing and Pug Ranch LLC for revelling in another team's badness while the team we cheer for is also bad. That said, the Leafs were fully expected to suck this year; the Habs were not.
And initially, they didn't. Given their complete collapse since December, it's easy to forget they won their first nine games to start the season. In fact, many people were crowning them as Stanley Cup champions despite only having played just over 10% of the season.
Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?
Montreal Canadiens 2k16 Stanley Cup champions am l right ⚪️ #GoHabsGo
— Melanie :) (@SpongeMel) October 16, 2015
Just giving everyone a heads up, Montreal is going to win the Stanley Cup.
— Nathanael Prum (@NathanielPrum) October 18, 2015
Montreal will take the Stanley cup this year. I should bet on it, that's how sure I am.
— ida (@doitbackwards) October 19, 2015
Stanley Cup prediction: Montreal in 5 over Nashville
— Zach Remming (@Remmjob31) October 22, 2015
So. Montreal Canadians are up 7-0. I've got a grand that says they win the Stanley Cup this year. Any takers?
— Mathew Nooch (@TheNoochM) October 24, 2015
(EDITOR'S NOTE: a lot of people sure seemed willing to bet on a Stanley Cup winner in October. If anyone asks you to do this, for the love of God, DO IT.)
Montreal Canadiens are 9-0-0. They headed into the season as a Stanley Cup favourite, This early start approves
— V.J (@TheRealVJ24) October 25, 2015
Montreal is going to make it to the Stanley Cup finals, I just know it
— katie (@katieerogers__) October 27, 2015
Nashville-Montreal Stanley Cup Final. Habs take home the cup again
— Nick Farina (@NickFarina27) October 29, 2015
Are the Montreal Canadiens ready to compete for the Stanley Cup this year. Stats suggest they are!
— Fred R Power (@canadien1966) November 9, 2015
Of course, these were all doe-eyed idealistic Montreal fans who probably wanted to believe after such a strong start to the season. Surely no well-known sportswriter with a major platform would be sucked into making such a bold, but bad, prediction. Right?
Just send the Stanley Cup to Montreal right now. No way this team is losing next spring, the season is over.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) October 25, 2015
Oh. Okay.