The Washington Capitals needed just five games to defeat the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2025 playoffs. While the series was not long, the very young Canadiens definitely pushed the top-seeded Caps in multiple games, especially on home ice at the Bell Centre.
“Just want to congratulate the Canadiens organization as a whole and their team,” Carbery said. “[Their] path, it’s a lot like we went through last year. And it’s just been impressive to watch from afar what they’ve done in the second half of the year with the young team. They obviously have a real, real bright future with a lot of good young players that are going to have real long, impressive careers in the National Hockey League.”
Much like the 2023-24 Capitals, the Canadiens snuck into the final wild card playoff spot on the last day of their regular season. With an average age of 25.95, they became the youngest team to ever qualify for the NHL postseason, besting the 2012-13 Toronto Maple Leafs (26.0).
The Caps needed a first-ever playoff overtime winner from Alex Ovechkin to win Game 1, had to come from behind to win both Game 2 and Game 4, and got pummeled 6-3 in Montreal’s lone win of the series in Game 3. The series-clinching Game 5 was the only comfortable victory for the East’s top team.
“To me, that wasn’t a 4-1 series,” Carbery said. “I don’t know if Marty (Martin St. Louis) said that, but we found ways to win some of those games. They pushed us in every single one of those games. And so a huge congratulations to them and their organization. Marty did a phenomenal job with that team.”
One of the primary drivers of Montreal’s success was their first line, made up of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky. The trio gave Carbery matchup nightmares, especially when the Canadiens controlled the last line change on home ice.
The Canadiens were also led in scoring by 21-year-old rookie defenseman Lane Hutson, who posted five points (5a) in the five games. Hutson played on average 24:50 of ice time per game, which was top in the series overall.
“That top line and what Lane Hutson has become this year, that’s big time stuff in this league,” Carbery said. “As an opposing coach, I remember this when I was in Toronto against Tampa Bay with Kucherov and Point. You would have to set a whole game plan against that line. And when they got over [the boards] – you’ve got coaches, you’ve got players that are [going], ‘Is it Kucherov? Is it Point?’ Like trying to figure out who’s coming out. It’s the same way with Suzuki. And that’s the ultimate compliment I can pay.”
With the line on the ice in the series, the Canadiens controlled 63.1 percent of shot attempts, 63.7 percent of expected goals, 64.1 percent of scoring chances, and 64.8 percent of high-danger chances. The only thing stopping them from doing more damage was a low 7.32 on-ice shooting percentage and a .885 on-ice save percentage from Canadiens goalies during their shifts.
“Those guys have gotten to that level five-on-five where you have to be ready for them and you have to pre-scout against them and you’ve got to match up against them or else they’re going to make you pay,” Carbery said. “They’re so young, so now you’re just imagining, I don’t even want to go to that place, but the next 10 years of having to deal with that.”
Carbery also touched on Ivan Demidov, the 19-year-old Russian whom the Canadiens added to their roster just two games before the beginning of the playoffs. Much like the Capitals’ Ryan Leonard, Demidov had to learn how to play an NHL-style game on the fly during the most pressure-packed part of the season.
“I didn’t want to say this at the time because I was like, it’s going to burn me the second I talk about [Demidov] and being so young and in the league,” Carbery said. “He’s going to have three [goals] and one [assist], and I’m going to look like a fool in one of these games. But he and Lenny are very much in a similar spot. It’s so hard. They’re trying to get through shifts, five-on-five. Power play, he was excellent playing on that top unit.”
Demidov ended the series with two points (2a) in the five games. Leonard chipped in one point, an assist, playing more of a depth role with little to no special teams time.
“Those guys are going to have incredible careers, but it is a lot to throw him into a playoff series. When are the last guys to come in late in the season, right at the end of the year, and have an impact in the Stanley Cup playoffs? We’re going back to like Chris Kreider or Cale Makar. It’s not an easy league, especially this time of year, for guys that, whether they’re coming out of college or from the KHL, it’s a handful. And so, yeah, long-winded way of saying that [the Canadiens] have a bright future.”
The Canadiens aren’t done building just yet, either, as they own two first-round picks in this summer’s draft and nine picks in the first four rounds overall. After three straight seasons of missing the playoffs before this year, the Habs look like they’ll be postseason regulars again for a very long time.
