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The Canadiens have their ticket to the playoffs: direction the first round.
We already know that the Habs will face the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs and we know it won’t be easy.
The Caps will finish the season in 2nd place in the league standings… but they also have the 4th best powerplay in the NHL and the 2nd highest total of goals scored in the NHL (284). They are capable of being effective on both sides of the ice.
Since we’re talking about the Caps, let’s take a look at their lineup together.
Let’s start with the defense: Logan Thompson hasn’t played since April 2, but he’s started skating again.
We expect him to be ready for the first playoff game in Washington, and the Canadiens – who don’t score a lot of goals – will have to find a way to disrupt Thompson quickly in the series.
Because this season, the Capitals’ goalie has been one of the best in the NHL:
- A record of 31-6-6
- A save percentage of .910
- An average of 2.49 goals allowed
But the Canadiens players will also have to expect to be roughed up because the Washington defense is not small. Really not, even…
Only one of the team’s six regular defensemen – who will be in the lineup for the first playoff game – is under 6 feet… and that’s Martin Fehérváry, standing at 5’11:
But what can help is the fact that the team still gives up a lot of goals.
The Caps are 24th in the NHL this season in terms of goals allowed, and that shows one thing: even if the defensemen are big and Logan Thompson is good, the team has defensive weaknesses.
The Canadiens will have to take advantage of that…
On offense, we know the Capitals have a strong top-6 and they also rely on other big players who can hit.
Alex Ovechkin (6’3 and 238 pounds), Aliaksei Protas (6’6 and 247 pounds), Dylan Strome (6’3 and 196 pounds), Tom Wilson (6’4 and 225 pounds), Pierre-Luc Dubois (6’4 and 220 pounds), Connor McMichael (6’0 and 180 pounds), Taylor Raddysh (6’3 and 200 pounds), Brandon Duhaime (6’2 and 210 pounds), Lars Eller (6’2 and 208 pounds)…
Wow.
That being said, the Canadiens are one of the teams in the NHL that hits the most this season.
And they will have to use that aspect to get under the skin of the Capitals players. If the Habs can get them off their game…
In the playoffs, it can also be a matter of momentum.
Things haven’t been going well for the Capitals lately, who have managed only four wins in their last eleven games.
The Habs, on the other hand, are coming into the playoffs with seven wins in their last eleven games… And they’re coming in with a full head of steam.
The young Canadiens players have something to prove. Brendan Gallagher is the only player on the team to have really experienced the playoffs with the Habs and the others will be hungry to see the atmosphere at the Bell Centre.
It won’t be easy for the Tricolore, but I also tend to believe that it won’t be easy for the Capitals.
The Canadiens have nothing to lose, after all, unlike their opponents who will finish the season in first place in the East… #DavidVsGoliath
Note that both teams will have a chance to rest a bit. The Capitals play their last game of the season tonight and will have until next Monday to recharge.
So it’s an advantage for both teams.
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In all this, we should also note that the Capitals “won’t be playing for Ovi” in the context where the captain said he wants to come back next year.
There won’t be any buzz around the Capitals’ captain, to put it another way.
And with the team struggling lately after spending weeks focusing on the goal record… the Canadiens have the opportunity to cause a big upset in the first round of the playoffs.
