The Montreal Canadiens snagged a playoff spot last night when they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 at home. At nearly the same time, Canada's four party leaders also held their official French debate, just a few blocks away. Fun fact: The debate was moved two hours ahead of schedule to accommodate the hockey game. Can you think of anything more Canadian than that?
That debate, and the English-language match-up that followed tonight, gave the Conservative Party its last best chance to try to change the narrative in the run-up to Canada's April 28 federal election. Sadly for them, it looks like they failed. Prime Minister Mark Carney didn't stumble badly in French, and the Tories' Trumpy leader, Pierre Poilievre, scored no knockout punches. At least, that's the consensus right now. We'll see if the analysis changes as the dust continues to settle.
In our minds, though, the election continues to be Carney's to lose — projections currently have the Liberals gaining 193 seats to the Conservatives' 121. The Tories have their own internal problems, too: Ontario Premier Doug Ford is being no help to Poilievre (there's bad blood there), and the public finger-pointing has already begun. And right wingers in Alberta are already talking secession. Fun!
The Habs, however, might not be as well-positioned for their next challenge as Carney and the Liberals are. They're set to meet the Putin-loving Alex Ovechkin (shudder) and the Washington Capitals next week. It's going to be tough, but we wish them well. Meanwhile, we cats PURR.
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