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The Washington Capitals playoff schedule has been officially announced
Photo credit: NHL.com
It's the best time of the year for hockey fans, and the NHL unveiled the complete schedule for the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday.
The Washington Capitals will host the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on Monday.
The series will feature just one two-day break, coming between Game 4 in Montreal and Game 5 back in Washington. All other games in the series will be spaced out by a single off day.
Steven Ellis from the Daily Faceoff writes that the two teams faced off three times during the regular season, with their last meeting taking place on Jan. 10, where the Habs won 3-2 in overtime, their only victory in the series. The Capitals took the other two matchups, outscoring Montreal 12-8 overall. Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson each tallied four points in the season series, while Alex Ovechkin was clinical, scoring on both of his two shots across two games (he missed the January matchup).
On the Canadiens' side, Cole Caufield led the way with five points in three games, while Nick Suzuki was the only other player to record more than one, as Montreal's top line did most of the heavy lifting.
The Canadiens, meanwhile, have been playing must-win hockey for much of the second half of the season. Since Jan. 1, they've picked up 54 points, ranking 11th in the NHL over that stretch. They had a chance to clinch a playoff spot with four games remaining, but three consecutive losses left them needing a win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday to secure their place.
"They ultimately did, but you have to wonder if the magic was starting to wear off at the absolute wrong time." -Ellis
Montreal hasn't made the playoffs since their near-miss in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. Since then, they've picked first overall in 2022 and fifth overall in both 2023 and 2024. Now, that young core is beginning to take shape, with Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov expected to play significant roles in the first round.
"The team is still far from perfect and there's still work for GM Kent Hughes to do to make them a truly competitive team, long-term. But the youth is here, thriving, and ready to get to work." -Ellis
The two teams have faced off just once in the playoffs, back in 2010. It was a thrilling series, with the underdog Canadiens getting an exceptional performance from Jaroslav Halak, who stunned the hockey world. Montreal was down 3-1 in the series before Halak took over, allowing just three goals in the final three games to help the Canadiens complete the comeback.
"Neither team has put in inspiring performances recently, either. But when you compare this to the battle in 2010, both teams have similar auras around them - and therefore, don't be surprised if we see a similar result." -Ellis
The Capitals are coming off a record-breaking season and are eager to cap it off with their second Stanley Cup. Their core remains as strong as it was in 2018, the goaltending has been solid for the most part, and there are plenty of reasons to believe they can go all the way. But Montreal has been playing must-win hockey for months, and while their road to the playoffs wasn't easy, there's a certain "why not us?" attitude fueling their confidence heading into the series.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 17 | 55 ANSWERS The Washington Capitals playoff schedule has been officially announced Who will win this first-round series? | ||
| Capitals | 48 | 87.3 % |
| Canadiens | 7 | 12.7 % |
| List of polls | ||