MONTREAL – The Canadiens open the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a first-round series against the Washington Capitals.
ROUND 1 SCHEDULE | ROUND 1 TICKETS | CANADIENS 2025 PLAYOFF CENTRAL
Here’s what you need to know heading into the series:
A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
Game 1 marks the Habs’ long-awaited return to the postseason—their first since the team’s memorable run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals.
The series also brings a rare dose of déjà vu, marking only the second-ever postseason meeting between the Canadiens and Capitals, and the first since 2010. That year, the No. 8 seeded Canadiens upset the top ranked Capitals in Game 7.
Fifteen years later, Montreal finds themselves in familiar territory, as underdogs looking to eliminate the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed once more.
Since the 4 Nations Face-Off, Montreal owns the better record: 15-5-6 versus Washington’s 15-11-1. The Canadiens are 10-0-2 at the Bell Centre over that span, a form they’ll look to keep intact against the Capitals, who tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs as the NHL’s best road team in 2024-25.
2024-25 SEASON SERIES
Washington edged Montreal 2-1 in the 2024-25 season series, with all three games requiring a decisive third period or overtime frame.
Here’s a brief summary of how it happened:
October 31: The Habs allowed three unanswered third-period goals to fall 6-3 to the Caps on Halloween Night at Capital One Arena.
December 17: The Capitals erased a two-goal deficit, again tallying three unanswered markers in the final stanza, to escape the Bell Centre with a 4-2 victory.
January 10: Cole Caufield extended his goal streak to five games and Nick Suzuki scored the overtime winner in the Canadiens’ 3-2 win on the road in the season series finale.
THE GREAT 8 VERSUS 48
Alexander Ovechkin (No. 8) and Lane Hutson (No. 48): two players, worlds apart in age and style, coming off historic seasons.
At 39 years old, Ovechkin continues to defy time. The future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer returned from a fractured leg earlier this season to score 44 goals in just 65 games for the Capitals and, in doing so, broke Wayne Gretzky’s record to become the NHL’s all-time goals leader.
On the other end of the age spectrum, Hutson, the odds-on favorite for the Calder Trophy, set the Canadiens’ franchise record for most the points by a rookie defenseman and tied Larry Murphy’s NHL record for most assists for a first-year blue-liner.
It’ll be the rookie and the vet. A legend versus a rising star.
X FACTORS
Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and Nick Suzuki have been the Canadiens’ driving force down the stretch. That trio ranks eighth league-wide among lines with at least 200 minutes together 5-on-5, generating 4.17 goals per 60 minutes. All with career years in points, expect the Habs to need their top weapons to breakthrough Washington’s defensive structure to prevail in this series.
The Caps’ first line, composed of Ovechkin, Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas also produced elite numbers this season, before the latter went down with an injury. The three-man unit contributed 4.69 goals per 60 minutes, ranking them fifth in the NHL. With Protas yet to resume on-ice work, his status for the series is in limbo. Regardless, Ovechkin and Strome’s threat remains alarming for Montreal.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Samuel Montembeault is expected to lead the Canadiens onto the ice for Game 1 at Capital One Arena. The 28-year-old posted career-bests this season with 32 wins and a 2.82 goals-against average. Montembeault ranked fifth in the NHL in goals saved above expected this season—a stat line he’ll look to carry into this first-round duel.
For Washington, Logan Thompson returned to practice on Saturday after missing the final seven games of the season with an injury. If he’s cleared, he will likely start on Monday, after going 31-6-6 in 43 games this season, with a .910 save percentage, 2.49 GAA and the League’s third-best goals saved above expected.
BY THE NUMBERS: HABS-CAPS
Here’s how the Canadiens and Capitals matched up by the numbers in the regular season:
