'Best team in the league': Canadiens' St. Louis throws pressure on favoured Capitals

Daniel Rainbird · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 20, 2025 6:40 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Martin St. Louis is putting the unit connected Washington.

While the Montreal Canadiens clawed their mode into the playoffs, the Capitals flirted with archetypal spot successful the NHL each season.

So who should beryllium feeling the vigor erstwhile the 2 teams conscionable successful the archetypal circular of their NHL playoff bid Monday nighttime successful the U.S capital?

"I consciousness it's the champion squad successful the league," the Canadiens caput manager said for a 3rd clip astir his opponent. "You bash the math."

Led by skipper Alex Ovechkin, who eclipsed Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring grounds April 6, Washington topped the Eastern Conference with 111 points this season.

Montreal, meanwhile, clinched the last chaotic paper with 91 points — a fig that wouldn't person qualified successful the West — and a minus-20 goal-differential.

But playing the underdog is thing caller for the Canadiens. They've already defied the likelihood conscionable to scope the post-season.

A rebuilding team, Montreal missed the playoffs successful 3 consecutive years earlier this season's astonishment run.

'Really assured group'

Late-April hockey looked retired of the question erstwhile the Canadiens ranked 31st connected Dec. 1, and again erstwhile St. Louis's squad sputtered earlier February's 4 Nations tourney break.

Captain Nick Suzuki and rookie sensation Lane Hutson past played cardinal roles successful a implicit squad effort to ascent the standings, and Montreal rallied with a 15-5-6 successful the last 4th of the season.

"They're the 1 effect and we conscionable snuck in, but I deliberation we don't truly consciousness similar we're an 8 seed," Suzuki said. "We've been playing truly bully hockey. We're a truly assured group."

The Canadiens — with an mean property of 25.8 years — are by acold the youngest squad to marque the playoffs. But Suzuki believes they've gained plentifulness of acquisition successful pressure-packed games down the stretch.

"We've been playing playoff hockey," helium said. "We've been warring for our lives to get successful this presumption for the past fewer weeks now.

"We're looking guardant to the challenge, truthful I deliberation we tin unrecorded up to it."

WATCH l Playoff buzz abound successful Montreal:

The post-season berth marks the instrumentality of playoff hockey to 1 of the sport's astir passionate markets.

The Canadiens are backmost successful the playoffs for the archetypal clip since reaching the Stanley Cup last successful the pandemic-shortened 2021 season. And fans volition person the accidental to capable the Bell Centre for a playoff crippled for the archetypal clip since 2017.

A play ago, the Capitals were successful the Canadiens' shoes, squeaking successful to the playoffs contempt their antagonistic goal-differential.

Now they're the apical effect and heavy favoured to advance, but caput manager Spencer Carbery reminded reporters they've exceeded pre-season expectations each season.

"I'm not excessively acrophobic with betting odds," helium said. "No 1 had america successful this spot earlier the play started, and conscionable due to the fact that we've had a large regular play and we're sitting arsenic the archetypal effect successful the East, I tin committedness you this, there's nary overconfidence.

"Not portion of our DNA."

While Montreal thrived aft the 4 Nations break, Washington mislaid immoderate steam with a 15-11-1 record, including 8 losses successful their past 12 regular-season games. That last agelong includes the extremity of Ovechkin's grounds pursuit and debased stakes due to the fact that they'd secured a playoff berth.

But the Capitals are besides a small banged up.

Logan Thompson hasn't played since sustaining an upper-body wounded against the Carolina Hurricanes connected April 2, but the netminder practised successful afloat capableness connected Saturday and Sunday. Carbery said he'll sanction his Game 1 starter Monday.

Meanwhile, guardant Aliaksei Protas, who broke retired this play with 30 goals and 36 assists successful 76 games, skated Sunday aft injuring his ft April 4. Depth defenceman Martin Fehervary (lower body) has been ruled retired for Game 1.

When the 2 teams past met successful the playoffs successful 2010, eighth-seeded Montreal upset the Presidents' Trophy winners successful 7 games.

The Canadiens volition effort to marque past repetition itself 15 years later.

"We're conscionable ne'er retired of it," defenceman Kaiden Guhle said. "People person been doubting america each year, and we're here. Seems similar erstwhile the likelihood are stacked against us, it's erstwhile we're astatine our best.

"We said, `Why not us, wherefore not now?' for playoffs. But wherefore not us, wherefore not present to win?"

Season series

The Canadiens mislaid 2 of their 3 regular-season matchups against the Capitals, including a 6-3 decision Oct. 31. Montreal won 3-2 successful overtime astatine Washington connected Jan. 10.

Last clip out

The Capitals were famously "Halak'd" successful 2010, erstwhile Canadiens netminder Jaroslav Halak famously stole the bid with a .939 prevention percentage.

Breakout potential

Ivan Demidov: The 19-year-old Russian arrived successful Montreal from the KHL's SKA Saint Petersburg a small much than a week ago. Selected 5th wide successful the 2024 draft, the talented winger played his archetypal 2 NHL games for the Canadiens astatine the extremity of the regular play and dazzled with a extremity and an assistance successful his debut. He could beryllium a chaotic paper for Montreal.

Connor McMichael: With Protas perchance out, the Capitals volition look for McMichael to enactment Ovechkin and apical centre Dylan Strome with immoderate secondary scoring. The 24-year-old McMichael had a career-best 26 goals and 31 assists successful 82 games this season.