Key dates prior to the start of the season: Although some media picked the Canadiens to not make the playoffs, the team surprised the league with a large improvement in its play.
The Canadiens retired two jersey numbers during the season with pre-game ceremonies at the Bell Centre.
* Unsuccessful penalty shot for Chris Higgins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs on March 29, 2008.
The Montreal Canadiens clinched a playoff spot following a 7–5 victory against the Ottawa Senators on March 24, 2008, their 77th game of the season.
They were the first team in the East to clinch a spot in the playoffs, won the Northeast Division and finished first in the Eastern Conference with 104 points, their highest total since the 1988–89 season.
This was the 31st playoff meeting between these two Original Six rivals, with Montreal winning twenty-three of the thirty previous series.
They last met in the 1989 Prince of Wales Conference Final where Montreal won in six games.
On April 5, following the final home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team announced its award winners for the season.
[5] The Hamilton Bulldogs remain Montreal's top affiliate in the American Hockey League in 2007–08.