A Canadian Political Debate Changed It's Start Time Because A Montreal Canadiens Game

Wednesday night was a big one for the Montreal Canadiens as they faced a must-win-or-at-least-force-overtime situation against the Carolina Hurricanes if they wanted to make a bit of a surprise Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance.

In fact, it was such a big deal that some politicians postponed their debate so that fans could watch the game.

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I think fans would watch the game regardless of whether or not there was a debate, but still…

On Tuesday, CBC/Radio-Canada released a statement saying that they were scooching up the start time of their debate between some French-language politicians two hours from 8 p.m. to 6 p.m. so that it wouldn't conflict with the Habs game against the Hurricanes.

"This will allow voters to catch this crucial moment in the election campaign while also watching the decisive periods of the hockey game that could see the Montreal Canadiens qualify for the playoffs," the statement read, per The Montreal Gazette.

The move was made to make sure viewership was at its maximum, because, yeah, let's face it if that debate competed directly with the Habs game, there's not a chance anyone was going to watch it.

Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates with teammates after their playoff-clinching win over the Carolina Hurricanes. (Photo by Reuben Polansky-Shapiro/NHLI via Getty Images)

It turns out that that was a good call because the Canadiens wound up beating the Hurricanes 4-2 to lock up the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. That win earns them a first round date with the NHL's all-time leading goal-scorer Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

Good luck with that…

But this season will go down as a success for the Habs because most people didn't think they'd be in this position back in the fall, especially not when they have to battle through a pretty deep Atlantic Division to do it.

I think the Caps will be too tall an order for Martin St. Louis' boys, but with the addition of Ivan Demidov for Montreal, this should be a fun series to watch.