The Montreal Canadiens will return to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2021 final when their first-round series against the Washington Capitals kicks off on Monday.
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While the objective was only to be in the mix this season for the rebuilding Canadiens, they’ve exceeded it and are now playing with house money as one of the biggest underdogs of the first round. Standing in their way are the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division champions, the Capitals.
The Regular Season
There is a 20-point difference in the standings between the two sides, but the Canadiens were in the best shape in the final 10 games of the season, going 7-1-2 down the stretch while Washington went 4-6-0. The D.C. outfit lost four of the six games played after sniper extraordinaire and team captain Alexander Ovechkin beat Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record. Some feared the Gr8 Chase would be a distraction during the regular season, but it became a motivator for the whole team. Still, since the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Canadiens put up 36 points on the board while the Capitals put up 31.
The teams crossed paths three times this season, and Spencer Carbery’s men came out on top twice, but Martin St-Louis’ charges won the most recent duel 3-2 in January. The Caps’ wins came in October (6-3) and December (4-2), which means they outscored Montreal 12-8 in the season series. It’s worth noting that both of the Caps’ wins came before the Canadiens turned a corner in their progression and went on a couple of impressive winning streaks.
The Attack
Throughout the season series, Cole Caufield has been the Canadiens’ top scorer with five points in three games, followed by Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson, who both have four. Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook, Christian Dvorak, David Savard, Josh Anderson, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Kaiden Guhle had a single point while everyone else was kept off the scoresheet.
If the Canadiens hope to win this series, the attack must be spread around, starting with the second line. Kirby Dach is still out of action, so rookie Ivan Demidov has landed in the top six, skating alongside Newhook and Patrik Laine. If they can find a way to be a real threat to the Capitals’ defence, it will ease the pressure on the Suzuki line and cause Carbery headaches.
The attack was much more spread out for Washington, with gritty winger Tom Wilson and youngster Aliaksei Protas (who is currently sidelined with an injury) leading the way with four points apiece in three games. Ovechkin, center Dylan Strome, and right winger Taylor Raddysh all had three points, but the captain did it in two games, missing one of the duels.
Connor McMichael, Pierre-Luc Dubois, John Carlson, Jacob Chychrun, and Trevor Van Riemsdyk all scored two points in the season series, demonstrating that the Capitals have more offensive contributors.
While Ovechkin will be one of the guys to watch for the Canadiens, they can’t afford to let Wilson get too comfortable. The rugged winger has a very physical game that Montreal would do well to tame quickly. With Arber Xhekaj sitting out the last five games of the season, it’s hard to imagine St. Louis deploying him to start the series, and Guhle might have to handle the 225-pound, six-foot-four ball of hate, even though Xhekaj would have had a weight advantage on him.
The Goaltending
In net, St-Louis will go with Samuel Montembeault, the Becancour native, who had the best season of his career with 31 wins, a 2.80 goals-against average, and a .902 save percentage. The number one netminder has played six times against the first-round foe and has a 2-3-0 record against them, alongside a 3.49 GAA and a .893 SP. This series will be his baptism of fire; he’s among the numerous Canadiens players who have never tasted playoff hockey.
Should he struggle, Jakub Dobes will be waiting in the wings. The young netminder was in the net for the Canadiens’ only win against the Capitals this season. The Czech keeper has a 7-4-3 record this season with a 2.74 GAA and a .909 SP. Needless to say he has no NHL playoffs experience.
The situation is a bit trickier for the Capitals, Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren shared goaltending duties this season, with the former playing in 43 games and the latter 39. Thompson had the better record; he was 31-6-6 with a 2.49 GAA and a .910 SP, while Lindgren was 20-14-3- with a 2.73 GAA and a .910 SP. The problem is, though, Thompson is currently dealing with an injury, and there’s no word about his availability for the start of the series.
Thompson is 1-0-1 against the Canadiens with a 3.04 GAA and a .889 SP, while Lindgren, a former Hab, is 3-1-0 against them with a 2.51 GAA and a .899 SP. Goaltenders Clay Stevenson and Hunter Sheppard have each played a game for the Caps this season, with the former allowing five goals and the latter seven. One can safely assume Carbery would likely prefer not to go there.
The Experience
If Montreal wants to come out on top, they need to find a way to stop Oveckin on the power play, something every teams in the league has been trying to do for 20 years now. It’s the play you know its coming and yet seem to be unable to do anything about it. It’s similar to the Hutson-Laine combination on the power play, except it seems to work every time.
The Capitals are the far older and more experienced team, having won the Stanley Cup in 2017-18, and according to St-Louis himself, the Canadiens’ goal this season was to learn to win and handle the pressure that comes with it. It wasn’t easy, and it took them four games to secure their playoff berth under pressure. In the postseason, there is nothing but pressure, and you can’t afford to need four tries to win a game. School is in session, and the Habs must be on their best behavior to pass the next lesson, they can’t afford to sleep through the first period either.
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The Montreal Canadiens will return to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2021 final when their first-round series against the Washington Capitals kicks off on Monday.
Canadiens: Feels Like 2010?
Canadiens Veteran Defenseman Confirms Retirement At Playoffs’ End
Protas and Thompson Progressing But Playoff Ready?
While the objective was only to be in the mix this season for the rebuilding Canadiens, they’ve exceeded it and are now playing with house money as one of the biggest underdogs of the first round. Standing in their way are the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division champions, the Capitals.
The Regular Season
There is a 20-point difference in the standings between the two sides, but the Canadiens were in the best shape in the final 10 games of the season, going 7-1-2 down the stretch while Washington went 4-6-0. The D.C. outfit lost four of the six games played after sniper extraordinaire and team captain Alexander Ovechkin beat Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record. Some feared the Gr8 Chase would be a distraction during the regular season, but it became a motivator for the whole team. Still, since the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Canadiens put up 36 points on the board while the Capitals put up 31.
The teams crossed paths three times this season, and Spencer Carbery’s men came out on top twice, but Martin St-Louis’ charges won the most recent duel 3-2 in January. The Caps’ wins came in October (6-3) and December (4-2), which means they outscored Montreal 12-8 in the season series. It’s worth noting that both of the Caps’ wins came before the Canadiens turned a corner in their progression and went on a couple of impressive winning streaks.
The Attack
Throughout the season series, Cole Caufield has been the Canadiens’ top scorer with five points in three games, followed by Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson, who both have four. Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook, Christian Dvorak, David Savard, Josh Anderson, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Kaiden Guhle had a single point while everyone else was kept off the scoresheet.
If the Canadiens hope to win this series, the attack must be spread around, starting with the second line. Kirby Dach is still out of action, so rookie Ivan Demidov has landed in the top six, skating alongside Newhook and Patrik Laine. If they can find a way to be a real threat to the Capitals’ defence, it will ease the pressure on the Suzuki line and cause Carbery headaches.
The attack was much more spread out for Washington, with gritty winger Tom Wilson and youngster Aliaksei Protas (who is currently sidelined with an injury) leading the way with four points apiece in three games. Ovechkin, center Dylan Strome, and right winger Taylor Raddysh all had three points, but the captain did it in two games, missing one of the duels.
Connor McMichael, Pierre-Luc Dubois, John Carlson, Jacob Chychrun, and Trevor Van Riemsdyk all scored two points in the season series, demonstrating that the Capitals have more offensive contributors.
While Ovechkin will be one of the guys to watch for the Canadiens, they can’t afford to let Wilson get too comfortable. The rugged winger has a very physical game that Montreal would do well to tame quickly. With Arber Xhekaj sitting out the last five games of the season, it’s hard to imagine St. Louis deploying him to start the series, and Guhle might have to handle the 225-pound, six-foot-four ball of hate, even though Xhekaj would have had a weight advantage on him.
The Goaltending
In net, St-Louis will go with Samuel Montembeault, the Becancour native, who had the best season of his career with 31 wins, a 2.80 goals-against average, and a .902 save percentage. The number one netminder has played six times against the first-round foe and has a 2-3-0 record against them, alongside a 3.49 GAA and a .893 SP. This series will be his baptism of fire; he’s among the numerous Canadiens players who have never tasted playoff hockey.
Should he struggle, Jakub Dobes will be waiting in the wings. The young netminder was in the net for the Canadiens’ only win against the Capitals this season. The Czech keeper has a 7-4-3 record this season with a 2.74 GAA and a .909 SP. Needless to say he has no NHL playoffs experience.
The situation is a bit trickier for the Capitals, Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren shared goaltending duties this season, with the former playing in 43 games and the latter 39. Thompson had the better record; he was 31-6-6 with a 2.49 GAA and a .910 SP, while Lindgren was 20-14-3- with a 2.73 GAA and a .910 SP. The problem is, though, Thompson is currently dealing with an injury, and there’s no word about his availability for the start of the series.
Thompson is 1-0-1 against the Canadiens with a 3.04 GAA and a .889 SP, while Lindgren, a former Hab, is 3-1-0 against them with a 2.51 GAA and a .899 SP. Goaltenders Clay Stevenson and Hunter Sheppard have each played a game for the Caps this season, with the former allowing five goals and the latter seven. One can safely assume Carbery would likely prefer not to go there.
The Experience
If Montreal wants to come out on top, they need to find a way to stop Oveckin on the power play, something every teams in the league has been trying to do for 20 years now. It’s the play you know its coming and yet seem to be unable to do anything about it. It’s similar to the Hutson-Laine combination on the power play, except it seems to work every time.
The Capitals are the far older and more experienced team, having won the Stanley Cup in 2017-18, and according to St-Louis himself, the Canadiens’ goal this season was to learn to win and handle the pressure that comes with it. It wasn’t easy, and it took them four games to secure their playoff berth under pressure. In the postseason, there is nothing but pressure, and you can’t afford to need four tries to win a game. School is in session, and the Habs must be on their best behavior to pass the next lesson, they can’t afford to sleep through the first period either.
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens’ page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
