Montreal Canadiens playoff clinching scenarios after S/O loss to Blackhawks 

It seemed as though the Montreal Canadiens were cruising toward what should have been an easy victory on Monday night against the hapless Chicago Blackhawks, who were eliminated from any chance at the postseason weeks ago.

And while things started well enough for the Habs, who took a 2-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes of play, they proved unable to get the job done. The Blackhawks rebounded with three straight goals to take the lead, and survived Montreal knotting the score late in regulation to eventually grab the extra point via the shootout.

This means that the Canadiens missed out on a chance to clinch their first playoff berth since their miracle run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.

They have one game remaining in the regular season, and it's a tall order against the playoff-bound Carolina Hurricanes.

Montreal can officially clinch their ticket to the postseason if they pick up at least one point against the Hurricanes when they meet on Wednesday. However, if they fail to pick up a point, their fate will be determined by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Blue Jackets could clinch a spot if they can defeat both the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders in regulation, meaning the final Wild Card spot would subsequently go to them instead.

The Canadiens and Hurricanes will drop the puck on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET from Bell Centre.

Despite the loss, Ivan Demidov scores 1st NHL goal

Russian rookie Ivan Demidov, who just arrived from overseas after agreeing to a three-year, entry-level contract, picked up the first goal of his National Hockey League career in the opening period of Monday's shootout loss to the Blackhawks.

He picked an errant rebound up off the boards and deked past the pad of Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom for his first tally, sending Bell Centre into a frenzy.

Demidov became just the third teenager playing for the Canadiens to score in his NHL debut, joining Mark Hunter (1981) and Bernie Geoffrion (1950).

He also picked up his first NHL point earlier in the contest, an assist on Christian Dvorak's goal that gave the Habs a 1-0 lead.

“It’s crazy,” Demidov said postgame via NHL.com. “I feel that the fans love me and it’s cool. Yeah, it’s amazing.”

Whether Demidov and the Canadiens can clinch a playoff spot remains to be seen.