The Montreal Canadiens have no shortage of inspiration from which to draw, if they want to upset the Washington Capitals in Round 1 of their 2025 first-round series. For example, Habs defenseman David Savard announced his impending retirement after this latest playoff run. So, a Stanley Cup would definitely make for a nice send-off for last season’s Jacques Beauchamp-Molson Trophy winner, as the team’s top unsung hero in 2023-24.
Related: Canadiens’ Anderson More a Beauchamp-Molson Than Masterton Contender
Still, there’s no disputing, as much of a warrior as Savard has been for the Canadiens, he’s only been around since 2021. Ex-general manager Marc Bergevin signed him away from the Stanley Cup-champion Tampa Bay Lightning (who had just beaten them in five games in the Final). While the Habs can try to take something away from that experience, they might ironically be better served looking further back… to the only other time they’ve faced the Capitals in the playoffs. If the headline wasn’t enough of a giveaway, you can probably see where this is going.
Back in 2010, the Canadiens upset the Capitals in Round 1 in seven games (and then the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 2, before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in Round 3). The Habs need only look back to that one series as proof the seemingly impossible can happen. More than that though, there are a few key similarities between this series and the one from 15 years ago to help them along:
A Rebuilding vs. Retooled Canadiens Team
And to be fair the Canadiens would need help, at least in the sense they wouldn’t be able to remember on their own as the youngest NHL team to ever make the playoffs (according to some sources). Literally none of them (excluding Carey Price) were around, with Savard only debuting as a professional the next season (and in the NHL with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2011-12).
So, consider this the biggest stretch on this list of similarities, because the Canadiens are obviously (still) rebuilding. However, in 2010, they had “retooled,” with a changing of the guard having taken place the previous offseason. Gone were names like Saku Koivu, Alexei Kovalev, Mike Komisarek and, in a similar situation to Savard, Patrice Brisebois, who went on to retire.
They were replaced by the likes of Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Hal Gill and Jaroslav Spacek. Of course, despite a playoff appearance the next season, they failed to qualify in 2012, effectively marking the end of the Bob Gainey/Pierre Gauthier era and the start of Bergevin’s tenure, which prompted a series of fresh retoolings, culminating in the aforementioned trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, before everything fell apart.
Eastern-Conference Leading Capitals
That next 2021-22 season, the Canadiens fell to the bottom of the NHL standings, in part prompting the hiring of Kent Hughes to replace Bergevin (and current-head coach Martin St. Louis to replace Dominique Ducharme). They’ve since improved their point total each season, having just earned 91, which is coincidentally the same amount the Capitals got last season, when they snuck into the playoffs as the second wild-card team in the Eastern Conference.
This season went a little differently for the Caps, presenting the most obvious similarity between them and the 2009-10 edition. In 2010, they won the Presidents’ Trophy, with 33 points separating the two teams in the standings (121 vs. 88). This time around, the Caps may not have won the Presidents’ Trophy, but they were the best team in the Eastern Conference, ending the campaign with 20 more points than the Canadiens.
Kind of makes a potential upset seem like child’s play (kind of).
Alexander Ovechkin and John Carlson
Both an established Alexander Ovechkin and a then-debuting John Carlson will do everything in their power to make sure that doesn’t happen, as the sole remaining members of that 2009-10 Capitals team. As alluded to earlier, they’re the sole remaining participants overall (both teams) from that series set to compete in this one (Carlson being day-to-day currently).
Times have obviously changed significantly, though. Despite Ovechkin having captured the all-time goal-scoring record this season and having scored an impressive 44 goals to lead both teams, he’s not the dominant player he once was. Dylan Strome actually led the Capitals in scoring, with Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki having led the field with 89 points.
There’s no disputing the Capitals have significantly more depth than the Canadiens. However, they also shouldn’t sleep on the Habs, who had 12 double-digit goal scorers. Ovechkin remains a threat by virtue of the record, but consider the fact the Capitals’ 121 points back in 2010 represent a franchise record. Could the underdogs rain on the Caps’ parade for the second time in 15 years after they’d just made history?
P.K. Subban vs. Lane Hutson
Full disclosure, Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson made history himself in a whole slew of ways, but most notably by tying the assists record in a single season by a rookie defenseman (60). For good measure, he added six goals to total 66 points, if you’re feeling superstitious at all.
Regardless, if the Canadiens are going to upset the Capitals, Hutson will figure in significantly, drawing parallels to another dynamic Habs defenseman, P.K. Subban, who, like Carlson, debuted in 2009-10. He got in only two regular-season games before playing in 14 of 19 games that playoff run. His eight points helped put him on the map en route to earning the 2013 James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s best defenseman as part of a relatively storied career.
What’s scary is Hutson has accomplished significantly more already at the same age Subban was then (21). It’s obviously not a perfect parallel, with Hutson having debuted in 2023-24, and 2010-11 serving as Subban’s official rookie season. However, they were each second-round picks back in the day who (have) emerged as their team’s best defenseman… who each scored single assists in their first two NHL games upon debuting, which is eery.
Of course, Subban dressed for only two games against the Capitals in that 2010 first-round series as an unproven not-yet-rookie. The Canadiens will probably be looking to play Hutson a tad more this time around, which is one additional way they have an edge over their 2010 counterparts. They did have the benefit of Andrei Markov, but that season coincided with a portion of his career during which he suffered several serious injuries.
For additional context, the team’s top-scoring defenseman that regular season was Marc-Andre Bergeron. In the playoffs, it was Roman Hamrlik, who had nine assists (zero goals). There’s a legitimate argument Subban (one goal, seven assists) was seriously their biggest difference-maker on defense those playoffs. So, yeah, with Hutson being more dangerous at this stage of his career and presumably having the full support of the franchise behind him, he and a rejuvenated Canadiens power play could have something to say about the series’ outcome.
An Ex-Canadiens Goalie in the Capitals Net?
One more edge the Canadiens could have, this time over the Capitals outright, is in net. However, this goes (way) beyond Habs starter Sam Montembeault placing just below Caps goalie Logan Thompson in terms of goals saved above expected (26.0 vs. 24.6, per MoneyPuck.com) and conceivably having a shot to outplay him.
Thompson is currently out with an upper-body injury. It remains to be seen if he misses time these playoffs. If so, backup Charlie Lindgren, who started his professional career with the Canadiens in 2015 after they signed him as a free agent, would realistically shoulder the load in net.
Interestingly, in 2010, another ex-Canadiens goalie, Jose Theodore, played Game 1 for the Capitals. He lost that one in overtime on a Tomas Plekanec shot he probably should have had. After giving up two goals on the first two shots he faced in Game 2, he never saw the Capitals net again, literally. Theodore went on to join the Minnesota Wild that offseason.
All that to say, if Lindgren is the guy (and history repeats itself), Montembeault could be the one advantage the Canadiens have in this series in theory, similar to in 2010. Even before Jaroslav Halak (what? Did you think this piece wouldn’t mention him at all?) undeniably stole the series, he had been the team’s go-to in net over Price, to the point he was the logical starter for them heading into Game 1.
Granted, Price did end up seeing the ice in that series after the coaching staff initially deviated from Halak to no avail. Price lost his one start, to put the Habs behind the eight ball, down 3-1. Halak then went back in and stole Games 5-7, with a save percentage of .978. In so doing, the Canadiens became the first No. 8 team to come back from 3-1 down against the top seeds.
If they accomplish something similar, Montembeault will have to be at the top of his game. What bodes well for the Canadiens though, is he doesn’t necessarily need to channel Halak. Not only are these Capitals a slightly weaker opponent. These Habs are slightly stronger too… making for an incredibly intriguing, nay, inspiring matchup on paper.
