The Montreal Canadiens are headed to the postseason.

The Habs officially punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Wednesday night, claiming the Eastern Conference’s second Wild Card spot after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2. Any result other than a regulation loss would have clinched things for the Habs, who will now face the Eastern Conference-winning Washington Capitals in the first round.

This is the first time the Habs have reached the postseason since losing the Stanley Cup Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021 and snaps a string of three straight last-place finishes in the Atlantic Division. 

Kaiden Guhle scored two goals and Nick Suzuki and and Jake Evans also scored for the Habs and Sam Montembeault stopped 27 of 29 shots shots en route to Wednesday’s win.

Montreal could have locked up a playoff spot with a victory Monday night or any other result other than a Columbus Blue Jackets regulation win Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. But the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Habs 4-3 in the shootout Monday and Columbus won 3-0 the night after, putting the Jackets two points behind the Habs with the tiebreaker and one game apiece remaining.

The Canadiens’ win Wednesday night at the Bell Centre officially eliminated Columbus and closed the door on the playoff picture with one day remaining in the 2024-25 regular season.