Canadiens Lottery Odds Improve As Concern Grows In Florida

The Montreal Canadiens trail the Florida Panthers by one point in the Atlantic standings. The Canadiens have a game in hand.

Montreal traded Ben Chiarot to the Panthers at the trade deadline last season. The first-round pick sent by the team was not lottery protected. Fans are worried about the current state of the Montreal team. New head coach Paul Maurice is the target of their ire.

The Panthers are currently third in the league in shot share, expected goal share (55.6 percent), and scoring chance share. They are averaging over 40 shots per game, but they are still thin on the backend and probably do miss MacKenzie Weegar. History does not favor them as 76.3 percent of teams that were in a playoff position on U.S. Thanksgiving made the playoffs since 2005-06.