Monday started off on a sour note for the Montreal Canadiens but ended on a high one, as they clinched the Atlantic Division with a 4-1 win over the floundering Florida Panthers.

When the news broke at around 11:30 a.m. that Shea Weber was on his way back to Montreal to have a lower-body injury evaluated by team doctors, things were looking ominous for the Canadiens. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren was being thrown into the fire for his second NHL contest—his first of this season—against a Panthers team that had lost four straight and had been looking to avenge a 6-2 loss to Montreal last week. Defenceman Jordie Benn, who had been a stabilizing force for the Canadiens since coming over in a trade from the Dallas Stars in late-February, continued to nurse an injury that would keep him from the game. And with Nikita Nesterov drawing in for Weber, after having not appeared in a game since Feb. 27, you had to think the dam might break for the team in bleu, blanc et rouge.

Instead, the Canadiens skated to their fifth consecutive win on the strength of 31 saves from Lindgren and goals by Andrew Shaw, Artturi Lehkonen and Alexander Radulov.

The Habs took an early lead on a crafty play from Alex Galchenyuk, who banked the puck off Panthers goalie Reto Berra right to Shaw’s open stick. The shot rang off the post and in and gave the plucky forward his 12th goal of the season.

Jonathan Marchessault’s 30th goal of the season tied things up with just over eight minutes left in the second period, but Lehkonen launched a missile over Berra’s shoulder to restore the lead 1:25 into the third.

The Finnish forward notched his second of the game just over 15 minutes later, providing insurance before Radulov scored into an empty net for his 18th goal of the season.

As the Canadiens were celebrating their accomplishment on the ice at BB&T Center, the Ottawa Senators were wallowing in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings, which all but locked the New York Rangers into the first wild-card position and a first-round meeting with Montreal in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Even if New York wins its remaining three games and the Columbus Blue Jackets fail to pick up a point in its final four, it’s practically impossible that the Rangers (+39) could catch up to the Blue Jackets (+59) in goal differential to break the tie.

You have to wonder how the Rangers are processing the likely matchup with Montreal.

The boys on Broadway have sputtered down the stretch with a 3-3-4 record over their last 10 games, and they lost all three of their contests against the Canadiens this season. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who has been at the root of the team’s success over the last decade, is sporting an uncharacteristic .910 save percentage through 55 appearances and has been anything but convincing of late.

Meanwhile, Canadiens goaltender Carey Price has been otherworldly since Claude Julien took over as head coach back on Feb. 14, notching a sparkling .941 save percentage in 17 starts.

Without him—and without Weber and Benn—the Canadiens were full value on Monday, recording 31 shots and holding slim edges in attempts and hits.

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The Canadiens have been a convincing group of late, riding a wave of confidence into the post-season as the NHL’s hottest team since Feb. 25.

With three games remaining—all of them against non-playoff teams—the Canadiens have a good chance to improve on their 14-3-1 record since that date, even if Julien elects to rest some of his stars ahead of what he hopes will be a long run this spring.

Julien noted earlier in the day that the decision to send Weber home was a precautionary one. If the doctors discover the defenceman’s injury isn’t all that serious, he becomes a prime candidate for rest.

Weber’s partner Andrei Markov, who spent the February bye week moving his twin sons from Russia to Montreal, could use a break as well. The 38-year-old has been at the height of his abilities in recent weeks but has flamed out in the late portion of recent seasons.

You have to think Price, who was admittedly mentally and physically exhausted around the halfway point of the season, might be down to just one more start. The team has Lindgren as a viable option, and it would be ideal if Al Montoya, who missed the last three games with a lower body injury, could get into a game before the playoffs start.

It’s a luxury to be in the position the Canadiens find themselves in. They’ve earned the breathing room, not to mention home-ice advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Even if all of that seemed inevitable, there were no guarantees it would be secured on Monday.