The NHL All-Star weekend might be just the break the Montreal Canadiens need.

Despite a solid 7-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night, the Habs’ less-than-stellar performance this season means if they want a spot in the playoffs, they are really going to have to work for it.

As of today, the Habs sit fourth in their division, 11th in the conference and 23rd in the league (out of 30 teams). To put it in some sort of perspective, they are doing worse than the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ouch.

The Montreal Gazette turned to website sportsclubstats.com to calculate the Habs’ chances of making the postseason. The result? 15.1 per cent.

Robert Lafleur of the blog Fighting for Stanley agreed the outlook is bleak.

“The experts are predicting an early spring exit for the Habs this year... Realistically, in order for the Habs to make the playoffs, they’ll need at least the same amount of points, only they’ll have to do it in 17 less games. Basically they have to win three out of every four games from here on out, an almost impossible task.”

The Habs have 33 games left this season.

Can they defy the odds or will they be swinging golf clubs postseason?

Photo: Bell Centre façade segment from Hussein Abdallah on Flickr