2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference QFs
Game 3: Montreal Canadiens (WC2) vs. Washington Capitals (M1)
WSH leads 2-0
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the United States: TNT, truTV
In the Capitals region: Monumental Sports Network
Streaming: Max, Sportsnet+
In a playoff series that was supposed to be bonus experience for young players on a Montreal Canadiens team not expected to play beyond the regular season, the conversation has instead turned to the play of a couple of the more veteran members. Now with potentially just two more games to play, we’ll see how head coach Martin St-Louis addresses the situation in the first game at the Bell Centre.
Getting his first glimpse at Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky together in playoff action, there’s little for the coach or the management team be concerned about. We saw that even in the early parts of their careers in 2021 that Suzuki and Caufield were playoff performers, and now Slafkovský has joined them on what is no doubt a line that can be the main trio of a contending team. Lane Hutson has also been Montreal’s most dynamic defenceman. Even playing on the road with a physical team targeting him, he has the highest expected-goal share of all Habs blue-liners.
In Game 2, we saw progress from Ivan Demidov, who was expected experience a steep improvement in his game as he got accustomed to the new style of play. After a difficult opening match, he looked good while playing with Jake Evans, providing the team with another effective line to join Suzuki’s and Christian Dvorak’s.
It was clear going into this series that Montreal’s roster wasn’t as strong — it doesn’t even have a second-line centre after all — but the Canadiens have managed to hold together well enough to have a chance to win the first game in overtime and multiple chances to tie Game 2. With a bit of smoke and mirrors on home ice to hide the holes in the formation, the Canadiens will have a better chance of turning their effort into a win.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Capitals |
|---|---|---|
| 44.1% | Expected-goal share | 55.9% |
| 1.5 | Goals per game | 3.0 |
| 3.0 | Goals against per game | 1.5 |
| 25.0% | PP% | 33.3% |
| 66.7% | PK% | 75.0% |
| Nick Suzuki (1) | Most goals | Alexander Ovechkin (2) |
| Lane Hutson (2) | Most assists | Dylan Strome (3) |
| Lane Hutson (2) | Most points | Dylan Strome (4) |
In terms of the product on the ice, St-Louis will try to address the way Montreal has been outplayed early in both games. Washington employs an aggressive forecheck in its offensive game, and while Samuel Montembeault has ensured that hasn’t led to many goals, it has generated plenty of quality scoring chances. The Canadiens have been guilty of getting out of their defensive-zone structure, chasing pucks or quickly getting rid of them to avoid hits, leading to breakdowns that Washington has been exploiting.
Washington isn’t nearly as aggressive when defending (outside of landing cross-checks on the smaller players’ jaws) and Montreal has been taking advantage of that style of play with late-game comeback bids. What the Capitals do with the body in Montreal’s zone, the Habs are doing with quick cycles and support along the boards to create openings. The best way for the players to avoid getting slammed into the glass is to make the Capitals be the ones running around looking to gain possession in their own zone.
Despite the series record, Montreal has been relatively competitive playing its style of play that has success with players using their stick skills to win 50/50 battles to gain a bit of space rather than trying to adopt a version of Washington’s bruising approach. If they can do the same while dictating the matchups at home and avoid the lengthy shifts spent in their own end, they have a chance to get right back in this series tonight. That would ensure at least a fifth game of experience for Hutson, Demidov, and the other young players who are opening Montreal’s competitive window.
