A new hope: Montreal Canadiens look to upset Washington Capitals... again

There was a buzz around the Bell Centre as Canadiens fans prepare for the first playoff game.

Back when Cole Caufield, Arber Xhekaj, and Alex Newhook were nine years old, the biggest mismatch of the first round pitted the Montreal Canadiens against the Washington Capitals in the NHL playoffs.

Few sports books, pundits or fans-in-the-know gave the Rebel Alliance-esque Habs much hope against the galactic empire Capitals in the first and only time the two teams met in the postseason.

Montreal won in seven.

The two teams meet again starting Monday night at the Capital One Arena.

The plethora of betting sites ready to take wagers are predictably siding with the United States capital side, with the over/under set on 5.5 games for the Habs’ season to be over.

That said, a new series, a new hope.

Different year, similar story

The Capitals ended the season at 111 points, 20 more than the Canadiens.

Those looking at the easy money should remember what happened in the series two years into the Barack Obama era.

In 2010, the eighth-seed Canadiens with 88 points took on the President’s Cup winning Capitals (121 points) in the only time the two teams had ever met in the postseason.

The Habs went down 3-1 and rode standout shot stopper Jaroslav Halak for the heroic comeback.

It was the only time to date that an eighth seed stormed back in such a way.

The Florida Panthers did the same against Boston Bruins in 2023.

Riot police were on hand after the 2-1 game seven win on April 28, and would be called on again when Montreal beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in round two in 2010.

Fun trivia fact: Dominic Moore scored the game winner for Montreal in game seven on an assist from Hal Gill.

Washington and Montreal have played each other 190 times.

The Habs are 84-73-26 over that span, but, more significantly, 4-3 in the playoffs.

Moneypuck is giving the Canadiens a 34 per cent chance of getting out of the first round.

Master and apprentice

On Dec. 9, 2005, rookie forward Alexander Ovechkin scored the first goal in the Capitals 4-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

It was his 18th goal.

One day later, Ivan Demidov was born.

The mouth-watering matchup between the padawan and jedi master from Russia is one all eyes will be on, but other Habs youngsters will likely determine the fate of the team.

Caufield (24), Juraj Slafkosky (21), captain Nick Suzuki (25) and rookie defenceman Lane Hutson (21) will be essential to Montreal upsetting Washington with backup shot-stopper Jakub Dobes (23) a potential Halak.

The Habs have 12 players on the roster with birthdays after the turn of the century and none who were born before 1990.

Just four players on the Capitals were born after the year 2000 (Rasmus Sandin, Ryan Leonard, Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas), and three (Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom) were born in the ’80s.

Average age according to statmuse: Montreal – 25.57; Washington – 27.62.

Regular hours over

The Capitals took care of business against the Canadiens in the regular season.

Monday will be the fourth time the Caps and Habs have met, with Washington winning twice and losing 3-2 in overtime on Jan. 10 thanks to Suzuki’s 13th goal of the season.

For the season, Washington went 26-9-6 in home games and 51-22-9 overall.

The Capitals are 48-2-6 in games they score three or more goals.

Montreal was 17-19-5 in road games and 40-31-11 overall. The Canadiens are 35-11-6 when scoring three or more goals.

More than just the Russians

Well, Ovi obviously for Washington, but also Dylan Strome, who led the team with 29 goals and 53 assists.

In addition, Caps fans are excited about the no. 8 pick in the 2023 draft in Leonard.

Caufield has 37 goals and 33 assists for the Canadiens. Hutson has one goal and nine assists over the past 10 games. His presence on the second or third lines are likely to be noticed.

While Demidov has set the city on fire in the past week, Hutson has been a consistent source of joy all season.

He set a Habs rookie record with 66 points (six goals, 60 assists), and is a top defender.

How much you want to pay?

Tickets to the game on Monday in Washington start at $135 CAD with flights from Monday to Thursday, running around $700.

On Friday, a single ticket at the Bell Centre will cost around $500 for nosebleeds.

Tickets to most couches are free.

Game starts at 7 p.m.