The Washington Capitals go for their first playoff series win since hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2018, starting on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Washington Capitals host the Montreal Canadiens in the first round and they will play their first game on Monday night. This is the matchup between the 1 and 8 seeds in the Eastern Conference with Washington finishing 20 points ahead of the Canadiens with 111 points. This is the first playoff appearance by the Canadiens for the first time since 2021 when they made a surprise appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals that the Tampa Bay Lightning would eventually win. The Capitals will be the favorite in this series and particularly in this home opener with a -190 line in their favor. Washington has its sights set on winning its first Stanley Cup since 2018.
How to Watch Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals Today:
Game Date: Monday, April 21, 2025
Game Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV Channel:Â ESPN
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For much of this season for the Capitals has been about the chase for Alexander Ovechkin to pass Wayne Gretzky as the league’s all-time leading goal scorer. Ovi scored 44 goals and ended the season with 897. Ovechkin passing the all-time record just seemed like a matter of time but what was surprising was Washington’s pursuit of the best record in the East this season. The Capitals won 11 more games than they did last season but they have not won a first round series since they hoisted the Cup back in 2018.
Washington didn’t exactly soar these last month coming into the playoffs. The Caps lost eight of their last 12 games with the focusing shifting to the Great 8 beating the record and they locked up the one seed so they could rest players. All of that shouldn’t be an issue against Montreal but the Canadiens did ride a hot streak to grab the last spot in these playoffs winning seven of their last 10 games. Their top line led by captain Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky will be a tough test all series for Washington.
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