from Sean Farrell at NHL.com,
The Montreal Canadiens are confident they can make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016-17 with largely the same lineup that narrowly missed out last season.
The Canadiens finished with 96 points, after they had 71 in 2017-18, but wound up two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"I think this is a team that is trending towards the playoffs and was very close last year," said defenseman Ben Chiarot, who signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract (average annual value of $3.5 million) with Montreal on July 4 after playing 305 games with the Winnipeg Jets. "All the pieces are here and a little bit reminds me of where we were in Winnipeg a few years ago with some of the young pieces and the leadership of guys like [defenseman Shea] Weber and [goalie Carey] Price. I think all the pieces are here for us to be successful, and I'll bring what I bring and I think we should be trending in the right direction."
Below, wateh the preview for the Habs....
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