Lot of people aren't convinced that MTL is gonna make the playoffs, and I believe they will finish with 100+ points, having home ice advantage in the first round.

I would like to know why anybody doesn't think they will make it

Fwds: After Drouin, Galchenyuk, Pach and Gallagher there isn't any scoring. And even that group doesn't make my boots shake!!
Def: After Weber this group is also quite weak in scoring ability
Goal: After Price, well, he's a backup for a reason.

I expect them to be fairly good defensively, thanks to mostly Price, but they WILL struggle to score consistently. They may make 2nd wildcard, but even that will take some work.

I agree. We just beat out Toronto for #2 in the Atlantic and are behind TB.

Forwards are not deep in scoring. Defense is not deep in scoring. Claude Julien is a great coach, but lack of scoring is why he was fired from Boston. With so little natural scoring, they will not score many goals. (Duh) And after Julien's coaching, they will become even more defensive minded. After Julien's departure, Boston really went off in scoring. Of course Price will make them a playoff contender. If he gets injured, expect a rough season in Montreal.

No, because they can't work together as a team and i'll tell the truth here, we've seen that, like in the 15-16 season.

Oh boy, here we go again.

Carey Price is enough to get them to the playoffs.

Honestly, I'm still undecided as to whether or not I think Montreal is in. I'll explain my reasoning.

Up front, Pacioretty and Drouin are both excellent wingers, should get around 60 points each. For some reason, Montreal refuses to put Galchenyuk as their #1 center. He's the best option there, and quite frankly their only option. Drouin's skillset is much better served to be on the wing, so he really isn't an option. Putting Plekanec at 2C is a recipe for disaster, so making Galchenyuk their 1C and Danault the 2C is the best way for them to go about this. The sooner they realize that, the better their season will go. They can't have this glaring issue at a position as important as center. Outside of those guys, there isn't a ton to be excited about. Byron probably won't get to 20 goals again, Shaw doesn't chip in a ton of offense, Gallagher is inconsistent and always hurt, Hemsky isn't anything more than a third liner, etc. Not a lot to be excited about up front.

Defensively, they are extremely slow. Alzner is a great PK guy, but his lack of mobility really got exposed last season. While Weber is an excellent guy, he can't carry the defense core all on his own. Nobody else on that defense can anchor a pairing, which is going to be a big problem for them. It really is going to put a lot of pressure on Carey Price. I'm sure he can handle it almost always, but when he isn't playing or has an off-night, Montreal is in for some hell.

Also the style of play is going to be an issue for them too. It's clear by the moves Bergevin has made that he wants the team to play more physical (swapping Eller with Shaw, bringing in Benn, everything he did at the deadline last year, etc). Slow hockey doesn't really work in today's NHL.

Last reason why I'm skeptical about the Habs is that there are so many other teams trending in the right direction. I see 5 teams from the Metro getting into the playoffs (Pittsburgh, Washington, Columbus, Rangers and Hurricanes), which leaves three spots for the Atlantic. I think there will be 6 teams in the mix for those three spots -- Montreal, Tampa, Toronto, Ottawa, Boston and Buffalo. I like Tampa and Toronto over Montreal for sure, and the other three teams are teams that I think are going to be right around where Montreal will be. I'm really high on Buffalo this season, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they get in. Boston is flying under the radar a lot, they could be right there. Ottawa may not regress as much as everyone seems to think they will. I'm undecided on who I think gets that last spot, but I think it's very realistic to see Montreal not make it.

this is off-topic but would you do one of those things like the Klefbom talk and the Isles vs. Flyers on why or why not Crosby is a top 10 player?

No, because I do think he's a top 10 player. Also, I guarantee I'd lose if I argued he wasn't. There aren't a lot of facts to back that up, and something like that is extremely subjective, especially if we're mixing in defenseman and goaltenders.

didn't you say he's not a top 10 player?

Four solid forward lines, three solid defense lines, and the best goalie in the world. They'll make the playoffs, but be eliminated early.

Maybe I did, but that's not my opinion. As much as I despise him, dude's a fantastic player

Solid isn't necessarily the word I'd use...

wait, so you said he's not but you think he is?

not good enough are the 3 words i'd use on the forwards. Their forward group is even worse than the Flyers' and Isles'.

Not sure why you are dragging the Flyers into this group. Literally have a very solid top-9 and will have an above-average 4th.

Weal-Giroux-Voracek (solid)
Lindblom - Patrick - Simmonds (solid; barring atrocious transition)
Konecny - Couturier - Filppula (solid)
Raffl - Lethera - Read (above-average 4th)

RAIF, please stop. There's no point in sparking this again. I'm honestly tired of coming onto this site and we're talking about the Flyers. It's horrible

So the question is, if MTL makes it, who falls out?

Edit: Because not everyone gets in.

Nobody, because Montreal made the playoffs last year. You don't make sense

no, but i mean, do one or more of Tampa, NYI, or CAR stay out?

Who is Weal???
Who is Lindblom??? Never heard of these guys
Patrick is an unknown injured rookie.....
Konecny I like.....jury is out on Coutourier
4th line is a line that thinks they can score but they can't and defensively (which is what the 4th line does) is a nightmare!!!!

NYI are definitely OUT. Canes may be close but they will miss out too

but tell me WHY NYI is definitely out.

Because they are pretty much garbage.

Tavares is ok, maybe in the top 20 forwards in the league.
Eberle is a good addition but if he plays with Tavares, it's only 1 line every team has to shut down.
Ladd Kulemin and Clutterbuck are hugely overrated
Czikas is ok, I like him Bailey and Nelson are ok too but that's not enough to score 6 goals a game, because that's what it will take to win.
D is terrible, only good one is Boychuk and by now you see you have the real Boychuk not the one that had just joined your team - now he has settled into mediocrity
Goaltending tandem is the worst in the league....when your backup is better than your starter, that = trouble

Just looking at your team, that's a huge amount of UFA's and RFA's coming up next year!! and you are already tight to the cap??? Good God what will happen!!??