The Washington Capitals’ first-round opponent in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs is finally known.
With a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night, the Montreal Canadiens clinched the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot (the eighth seed) and officially eliminated the Columbus Blue Jackets. They will now face the Washington Capitals in Round 1 of the playoffs.
The Habs’ playoff appearance marks their first since the 2020-21 season, when they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, but were eliminated in five games by the Tampa Bay Lightning. All the other 2025 playoff series were set before Wednesday.
The Caps have been waiting for their opponent since April 10, when they clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and home ice in the first three rounds of the playoffs. The first-round series will start at Capital One Arena, either sometime this weekend or Monday.
The Capitals and Canadiens have met just once in the Stanley Cup Playoffs previously — a moment in time that gives most Caps fans shudders. Despite vastly out-playing the Canadiens in the 2010 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Capitals could not solve goaltender Jaroslav Halak and were upset in seven games. The Capitals came into that first-round series on a high after winning the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time as regular-season champions.
This season, the Capitals went 2-0-1 against the Canadiens, outscoring them 12-8. Their only loss came in overtime on Jan. 10. Alex Ovechkin logged three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in the first meeting, missed the second with injury, and recorded just one shot on goal in the final contest.
Montreal is led in scoring this year by center Nick Suzuki, who has recorded a career-high 87 points (29g, 58a) in 81 games. Cole Caufield is the team’s top goal scorer, scoring 37 goals in 81 games, which is good for 11th most in the NHL.
Samuel Montembeault is the club’s number-one netminder, who came into Wednesday night’s game with a 30-24-7 record, a 2.83 goals-against average, a .901 save percentage, and four shutouts. Defenseman Lane Hutson also leads all NHL rookies in scoring with 65 points (6g, 59a) in 81 games.
The Canadiens got a major boost late last week when top prospect Ivan Demidov arrived from the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg to sign his entry-level contract. The 2024 first-round pick made his highly-anticipated debut against the Blackhawks on Monday, recording his first NHL point and first NHL goal in the first period.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to begin on Saturday, April 19.
