The Montreal Canadiens are out of the NHL playoffs.
Montreal fell 4-1 to the Washington Capitals in Sport 5 of their first-round collection Wednesday, shedding the best-of-seven matchup in 5 video games.
Washington will tackle the Carolina Hurricanes within the second spherical, whereas Montreal turns into the second crew knocked out of the post-season.
The Canadiens unexpectedly returned to the playoffs for the primary time since 2021, marking a turnaround for the storied franchise that started its first rebuild after a disastrous begin to the 2021-22 season.
Montreal lived close to the NHL’s basement for 3 years and was not a well-liked pre-season decide to achieve the playoffs.
The Canadiens stumbled out of the gate and ranked thirty first within the NHL on Dec. 1, greater than 1 / 4 of the best way via the season.
A scorching streak in the course of the vacation season was certainly one of many turning factors in a roller-coaster marketing campaign.
The Canadiens struggled once more in late January and early February to fall behind within the playoff race, however rebounded with a 15-5-6 run after the 4 Nations Face-Off break in a stretch crammed with dramatic comebacks.
Social media was flooded after the 19-year-old Russian signed with the Montreal Canadiens – and followers have been excited. Sportscasters say the hype is sensible, however others say followers might have to handle their expectations.
Montreal captured the second — and ultimate — wild card within the Jap Convention with a 4-2 win over Carolina in its ultimate sport of the common season. The matchup drew a lot consideration that the French-language federal election debate wanted to be rescheduled two hours sooner than deliberate.
Captain Nick Suzuki led the best way with 89 factors — probably the most by a Canadien since 1995-96 — whereas Calder Trophy favorite Lane Hutson set franchise data for a rookie defenceman.
Sam Montembeault established himself as a strong No. 1 goalie, and veterans Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher had their greatest seasons in years, amongst a number of different key performances in a particular season.
The youngest crew to achieve the playoffs, the Canadiens additionally certified with the fewest factors (91) and worst goal-differential (-20).
After two months of taking part in playoff-like hockey to climb the standings, the wear and tear and tear started to take its toll towards a bodily Capitals crew.
High-seeded Washington received Video games 1 and a couple of at residence earlier than Montreal’s electrical Sport 3 victory within the first sold-out playoff sport on the Bell Centre since 2017. The Capitals then picked up the primary street win of the collection in Sport 4 on Sunday.
Montembeault missed Video games 4 and 5 after exiting halfway via Sport 3 with a lower-body harm, and rookie goalie Jakub Dobes took over within the crease. The Canadiens additionally performed with out winger Patrik Laine (higher physique) from Sport 3 onward, whereas a number of different gamers nursed accidents.
