Ghosts Of 2010: Montreal Eyes Another Shocking Playoff Upset Over Ovechkin's Capitals
The Washington Capitals posted an Eastern Conference-best 51-22-9 record this season and enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs as one of the favorites to make the Cup final with Alexander Ovechkin leading the way. They will face the upstart Montreal Canadiens in the first round, just as they did under similar circumstances the last time the two clubs met 15 years ago.
The Caps won the Presidents' Trophy in 2010, with Ovechkin scoring 50 or more goals for the fourth time in his career to that point, while the Habs clinched a post-season berth in game No. 82, as they did on Thursday against Carolina. Regular season success did not matter in the playoffs, as the Canadiens pulled off the shocking upset, eliminating Washington in seven games.
If Montreal is to pull off a similar upset in 2025, history will have to repeat itself in a few key areas. The main reason for Montreal's advancement was winning the goaltending battle.
Both clubs used two goaltenders. Washington started the series with former Hab Jose Theodore as their starter, but after losing Game 1 in overtime, the former Hart and Vezina Trophy winner was pulled in the first period of Game 2 in favor of Semyon Varlamov, who went the rest of the way.
Jaroslav Halak was stellar in the series opener, stopping 45 shots in a 3-2 overtime victory, but after allowing six goals in a Game 2 overtime loss and three goals on 13 shots in Game 3, he was pulled in favor of 23-year-old Carey Price.
The Habs lost Game 3 and started Price in Game 4, but after falling 6-3 and facing elimination, Habs head coach Jacques Martin went back to Halak. That proved to be the difference in the series, as Halak allowed only three goals on 134 shots for the remainder of the series and stopped 41 shots in Game 7 in Washington.
14 years ago on April 26, 2010, Jaroslav Halak stopped 53 of 54 shots vs Washington as the Habs won Game 6 by a score of 4-1. This forced a Game 7 against the President's trophy-winning Capitals. The Habs would win that game & advance.pic.twitter.com/5TXssaYCnC
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) April 27, 2024
Ovechkin was dominant, with five goals and 10 points in the seven-game series, but his offense was matched by Mike Cammalleri, who had five of his 13 post-season goals against the Caps, and Montreal won the special-teams battle by a wide margin, scoring six power play goals and allowing Washington only one goal on the man advantage.
The Caps this year have question marks between the pipes going into the playoffs, with starter Logan Thompson out injured since the beginning of April. Thompson is skating, but backup Charlie Lindgren will likely start the series.
For Montreal to have any shot, they will need Samuel Montembeault to emulate Halak's playoff brilliance over the next two weeks.
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