For the first time in four years, the Montreal Canadiens played some playoff hockey on Monday night when they took on the Eastern Conference champions, the Washington Capitals. It was also the first playoff game for coach Martin St-Louis as a bench boss and goaltender Samuel Montembeault, one of seven Canadiens making their post-season debut.

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La Presse’s Guillaume Lefrançois reported that on Sunday, the Caps players had a skate around with their kids after practice. By the end of Monday night’s game, they must have felt St-Louis’ kids were tougher to skate with. The Habs were the second youngest team in the league this season and the youngest in the post-season, so a bit of early jitters was understandable, unlike what we’ve seen in the last few weeks, the Canadiens were ready to go when the puck dropped, even though they didn’t have the same intensity they had by the end of the game, they weren’t “sleepskating”.  

Monteambeault Shone Brightly

While a possible Canadiens’ win in this series is likely to come from the attack, goaltender Samuel Montembeault was everywhere in his playoff debut, facing numerous dangerous shots, especially in the opening frame.

His puck tracking was on point, his positioning was great, and he was undoubtedly the Habs’ best player in the first frame. Without him, Washington would have been ahead by much more than a single goal when the first frame ended. Ultimately, he made 29 saves on 32 shots for a .906 save percentage.

The Big Bad Caps

Physical hockey is expected in the playoffs, and the Caps were ready to throw their bodies around. Tom Wilson had no qualms about his feet leaving the ice as he finished his checks, and captain Alexander Ovechkin looked like a bulldozer out there. After 40 minutes, the Great Eight had seven hits, more than anyone on either side.

The game had only just started when Brendan Gallagher was cross-checked in the face after the whistle, a play that went uncalled and wasn’t much different from the play on which Matt Niskanen broke the Canadiens’ warrior’s jaw back in the 2020 playoffs.

I couldn’t help but think of Arber Xhekaj, who was watching the game from the press box and probably thinking he would love to be down there. I’ve expressed concern about St-Louis’ decision not to dress him on Monday, and I stand by what I wrote.

There’s this scene in HBO’s masterpiece The Sopranos where Uncle Junior tells Tony Soprano, “Next time you come in, you come in heavy or not at all.” Tonight’s game felt like a similar warning. The question is, however, will it have been heard? I’m not suggesting St-Louis “turns up packing” at the next game, but he does have a 240-pound heavyweight in the press gallery.

It’s worth mentioning, however, that just like in the regular season, Emil Heineman once again played like a madman, leading the Habs with six hits, followed by Josh Anderson and Kaiden Guhle with four. Even Patrik Laine got in on the action, landing three.

Experience Must Show

The moment was big for the Canadiens. As St-Louis said in his pre-game media availability, just because they exceeded expectations by making the playoffs doesn’t mean they’ll settle for a participation ribbon. On Saturday, Josh Anderson explained he doesn’t feel like the Habs are playing with house money; they are in to win it, but if they want to do that, they’ll need their experienced players to be a stabilizing presence.

Mike Matheson turning the puck over twice in the defensive zone on the same shift cannot happen, nor can not passing to a free Ivan Demidov on the power play. While the Habs may not have much playoff experience, they do have plenty of coming back from behind in the third frame experience, and it showed.

During the regular season, the Canadiens won 10 games after coming back from behind in the third frame. On Monday night, down 0-2 in the biggest game of their season, they turned up their intensity a notch after getting a power play halfway through the third, and it paid dividends. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki scored within five minutes to send the game to overtime.

In the end, the Capitals won the game a couple of minutes into overtime after an icing call, which must not have pleased St. Louis. Washington won the ensuing faceoff, and Ovechkin sealed the win after escaping Lane Hutson’s coverage, a tough break for the youngster who had a pair of helpers on the Habs goals.

It’s a shame for Laine, who was unable to tip the puck to prevent the icing as he was checked from behind. The forward had a respectable  game, not only was he more physical than usual, but he also took five shots on net and registered an assist, demonstrating that he had another level in the post-season. 

Patrik Laine gets knocked down from behind by a Caps player but the refs still call an icing.

The faceoff goes back to the Habs D-zone & the Caps score the OT winner.

There is zero consistency & accountability by these NHL refs. pic.twitter.com/avtdNeHqyo

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) April 22, 2025

The Habs will have a day to get over the tough loss before game two on Wednesday night in Washington.

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