We are now in the final stretch of the NHL schedule. With the trade deadline behind us, teams are now focusing on post-season preparations. For the Montreal Canadiens, the last 20 games of the campaign will be crucial for the future of the franchise. With the 7th best odds in the Connor Bedard lottery, these final games will improve or decrease the chances of potentially getting their hands on the 2023 draft pick. Barring a drastic change, the nine worst teams in the league are pretty much already known. There is a good chance that the picture will change by the end of the season, but the top 9 will be made up of these nine teams. <div align='center' style='padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:20px;'><img src='https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/i/photo/240907.webp' width='100%' border='0' alt='image' loading='lazy' defer /></div> As we can see, the CH is three points away from the 9th position, and ten points away from the first place giving the best chances in the lottery. For fans who want to see the Habs improve their chances of getting the first two picks in the draft, there is some good news. March is undoubtedly the toughest month on the Tricolore's schedule. Martin St-Louis' team will face the Golden Knights, Hurricanes, Rangers, Devils, Avalanche, Penguins, Panthers twice, Lightning twice, Bruins and the surprising Sabres. Basically, it will only be the Blue Jackets and Flyers who will be opponents that are technically a little more within the Habs' reach. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/BWildeMTL/status/1632438219718512642?s=20'> </a></blockquote></div> This will be an extremely tough stretch for the club as they will have to play against the majority of the best teams in the league. This situation could greatly increase the odds in the lottery. If the club accumulates losses as they are mostly expected against these powerhouses this will allow the Tricolore to favor its fate for the draft lottery.