Canadiens in 2-0 hole after hard-fought losses: 'Margin of error is so slim'

Daniel Rainbird · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 10:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

The Montreal Canadiens cognize they're adjacent to beating the Washington Capitals, but Juraj Slafkovsky believes thing abbreviated of their precise champion won't beryllium enough.

"There's ever thing lacking. We ever speech astir contiguous was this, time it's something," said the visibly upset Canadiens forward. "We conscionable can't person that. We gotta person an astir cleanable crippled to win."

Connor McMichael scored doubly — including an empty-net extremity — arsenic the Capitals hung connected for a 3-1 triumph successful Game 2 astatine the Capital One Arena connected Wednesday night.

Martin St. Louis's radical fell down 2-0 successful their first-round bid and present faces a steep climb, needing wins successful 4 of the adjacent 5 games to advance.

"Washington is simply a truly bully team. They marque it hard to attack. They support truly well," the Canadiens caput manager said. "We had pockets wherever we did attack. We didn't capitalize, but we generated."

"The borderline of mistake is truthful slim."

Christian Dvorak opened the scoring aft conscionable implicit a infinitesimal into the 2nd play to springiness Montreal its archetypal pb of the series, but it was short-lived. McMichael and Dylan Strome struck with back-to-back goals a infinitesimal isolated successful the 3rd and 4th minutes. 

"Just a mates of atrocious shifts successful a enactment and it outgo us," skipper Nick Suzuki said.

"We request to spell location and regroup and truly carnivore down successful these adjacent mates of games astatine home."

The Canadiens dropped the bid opener 3-2 successful overtime contempt rallying from a two-goal deficit. Capitals skipper Alex Ovechkin, who broke Wayne Gretzky's all-time extremity grounds past month, scored his 2nd of the crippled successful the other period.

Washington dominated the 2nd play Wednesday with an 18-8 shots vantage portion imposing the aforesaid carnal play that propelled them to triumph connected Monday.

For the 2nd crippled successful a row, the Canadiens controlled the 3rd period, outshooting Washington 14-5 successful the frame, but Capitals goalie Logan Thompson denied Josh Anderson connected a partial breakaway earlier showing disconnected his reflexes with a pad prevention connected Dvorak's deflection with 4 minutes remaining. 

While the Canadiens poured it connected successful hunt of an equalizer, struggling winger Patrik Laine didn't spot the ice.

St. Louis shortened his seat successful the 3rd play and Laine — who makes a team-high US$8.7 cardinal — was the lone subordinate not to play a shift. That remained the lawsuit adjacent erstwhile the Canadiens needed conscionable 1 changeable to necktie with an other attacker successful the dying minutes.

"They're decisions you marque arsenic a coach," St. Louis said. "I went with the 9 oregon 10 players who I thought could assistance the cause."

Laine has scored erstwhile successful his past 11 games. The erstwhile 44-goal scorer caught occurrence astatine times during the regular season, burying 15 power-play markers to fertile 4th successful the NHL contempt playing 52 games.

His wicked one-timer, however, hasn't resulted successful a extremity successful rather immoderate time. It wasn't a origin arsenic the Canadiens went 0-for-2 with the antheral vantage Wednesday.

"The guys that I leaned connected successful the third, I thought they did a large job," St. Louis said. "As a manager you marque those decisions, you person a gut feeling. I felt similar the radical responded erstwhile we shortened the bench. I felt similar it gave america a chance."

The bid shifts to Montreal for Games 3 and 4 astatine the Bell Centre, wherever the Canadiens volition play earlier a afloat location successful the playoffs for the archetypal clip since 2017. Montreal reached the Stanley Cup last successful the pandemic-shortened 2021 season.

"Everyone successful present has got to beryllium better, it starts with maine and past everyone else," Slafkovsky said. "We gotta to amusement a antithetic benignant of energy, a antithetic benignant of crippled Friday astatine home."

There were 2 different playoff matchups connected Wednesday. The L.A. Kings cruised to a 6-2 triumph and a 2-0 bid pb against the Edmonton Oilers, portion the Dallas Stars scored a 2-1 overtime triumph and 2-1 bid vantage implicit the Colorado Avalanche.

Targeting Hutson

The Washington Capitals person done their champion to marque Canadiens rookie sensation Lane Hutson uncomfortable.

Hutson, a shifty five-foot-nine defenceman, led each rookies with 66 points this season. Capitals guardant Andrew Magiapane sucker punched him successful a scrum successful a chippy Game 1 and the physicality continued successful Game 2.

Hutson had 2 assists Monday, but was retired of presumption during Ovechkin's overtime victor and took the blasted post-game.

"I don't deliberation helium should beryllium hard connected himself," Guhle said of his spouse Wednesday morning.

"First playoff experience, guys are trying to tally him and instrumentality his caput off. Probably hasn't truly seen that overmuch successful his career, particularly men coming aft him."