The clock is creeping towards midnight in Montreal.

Habs Nation is hoping it doesn’t strike 12 before the Stanley Cup Playoffs even begin.

The Bell Centre was buzzing Monday night as rookie phenom Ivan Demidov dazzled with two points in the first two minutes and change of his NHL debut.

Unfortunately for the sellout crowd, the night changed in a hurry as the Canadiens let an early 2-0 lead slip away and ultimately settled for a single point in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Once again, the Canadiens failed to clinch a playoff spot.

Now that the dust has settled after last night’s spectacle, the vibes surrounding the team feel just a bit different.

Habs fans have gone from talking “Playoff Demidov” to legitimate concern that they’ll only get to see him suit up one more time this month.

Montreal’s shootout loss kept the door open for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL’s Eastern Conference wild-card race.

The Blue Jackets are four points back of the Canadiens with a game in hand, and it isn’t completely unrealistic to envision a scenario in which Columbus closes that gap with a potential tiebreaker in pocket.

The Habs remarkable turnaround has been one of the memorable stories of the 2024-25 NHL season. That could change in a hurry over the next two days.

Suddenly, Habs Nation is bracing for a tense 48 hours in which the worst-case scenario results in their potential fairytale season turning into a nightmare.

This is the........

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