from Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette,

The Canadiens were officially eliminated from playoff contention at 9:52 p.m Friday in heartbreaking fashion.

That’s when the Columbus Blue Jackets completed their 3-2 shootout win over the Rangers in New York to clinch the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. That means the Canadiens’ final game of the regular season Saturday at the Bell Centre against the Toronto Maple Leafs is meaningless. It will be the last game for the Canadiens and the Leafs already know they will be playing the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs.

This marks the second straight season and the third time in four years that the Canadiens will miss the playoffs and they have now gone 26 years since their last Stanley Cup championship in 1993.

The Canadiens weren’t expected to make the playoffs this season after finishing 28th in the overall NHL standings last year. If they win Saturday night against the Leafs, the Canadiens would finish with 96 points — an impressive 25-point improvement from last season. The 96 points would also tie an NHL record for most points by a team not to make the playoffs.

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