that's six; the other 12 against TBL, BOS, TOR & FLA won't be easy tho

That's why they play game .

Sorry that was pretty corny.

Putting my username bias aside, I think the habs have a better shot than last year, but it's still a shot.

Tampa, Boston, Toronto are Atlantic locks, with Washington, Carolina, and Pittsburgh being locks (in my not so smart opinion)

That leaves the Panthers, Canadiens, Islanders, Jackets, and Rangers competing for 2 wild card spots.
Isles lost their goalie in Lenher who had a great year, I don't think Varlomov compensates enough
Panthers improved by a lot, but their D core still looks shaky
Jackets lost their 3 best players, they're gonna regress IMO.
Rangers look better by a mile
Canadiens didn't really improve much, LD got slightly better not by a lot.

So it's Canadiens, Panthers, and Rangers for the 2 wild card spots. I think MTL can finish ahead of FLA.

Roast me down below on my takes.

MTL biggest improvement is having Shea Weber healthy at the start of the season. People forgot he missed 2 months. Price wasnt good when Weber was absent. Niemi was garbage, Kinkaid will help win some games.