The Washington Capitals went up 1-0 on the Montreal Canadiens in their first-round series after a 3-2 overtime victory on Monday night. They, of course, did not make it easy on themselves but got the job done in the end.
Just in case you needed a playoff hockey refresher, the Caps are apparently here to deliver just that and then some.
- The Capitals absolutely cruised through the first 40 minutes of this game. Without Sam Montembeault giving me terrible flashbacks, I think they could have been up at least three goals headed into the third period. They had limited Montreal to just three five-on-five high-danger chances and collected 72 percent of the expected goals. Unfortunately, they did not keep that up whatsoever in the third period, allowing the Habs 32 shot attempts, 14 shots on goal, 12 scoring chances, and five high-danger chances during the final 20 minutes of regulation. The 2-0 lead crumbled within the final 10 minutes, and they’ve gotta figure those problems out heading deeper into the series.
- Luckily, Alex Ovechkin is on the Caps, though. Ovi potted two goals, including his first career playoff OT winner, to lead his team to the Game 1 win. He was “simply sensational” in the victory, recording three points (2g, 1a), four shots on goal, nine individual shot attempts, two individual scoring chances, two individual high-danger chances, and seven hits. Per the NHL, he is the fourth-oldest player in NHL playoff history to score an overtime goal. Legend.
- Ovechkin’s linemate, Anthony Beauvillier, also played a huge part in the win. The Capitals were on the good side of Beauvillier’s playoff brilliance after seeing it firsthand when he was on the Islanders in 2020. He recorded two points (1g, 1a), including his 17th career playoff goal. In 56 career playoff games, Beauvillier has recorded 33 points (17g, 16a).
- Logan Thompson was phenomenal in his return to the crease after missing the final seven games of the regular season. Thompson looked fresh, stopping 33 of the 35 shots he faced, including all 21 he saw in the first two periods. Per MoneyPuck, he saved 1.66 more goals than expected. Really great sign early in the series.
- The Canadiens’ top line of Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield was a massive problem for the Caps. With those three on the ice together at five-on-five, Montreal saw heavily positive differentials in shot attempts (+20), shots on goal (+8), scoring chances (+8), and high-danger chances (+4). Suzuki scored the game-tying goal while Caufield potted the team’s first goal in the game.
- This was the Capitals’ first playoff win since May 7, 2022, against the Florida Panthers. They beat Florida 6-1 in Game 3 of that first-round series, with Ilya Samsonov making 29 saves in net and goals from Ovechkin, TJ Oshie, Marcus Johansson, Trevor van Riemsdyk, John Carlson, and Garnet Hathaway.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-Reference, NaturalStatTrick, and HockeyStatCards.
