If the answer is “no,” that’s OK. Montreal nearly backed its way into the playoffs and the Washington Capitals hit a rough patch of their own. Still, this matchup brings a whole bunch of juice — the most prolific goal scorer of all time, the East’s top team and the return of postseason hockey to one of the sport’s true epicenters.

Andrew Mangiapane scored the go-ahead goal with just under four minutes remaining, Brandon Duhaime had two goals and Logan Thompson made 16 saves to lead the Washington Capitals to a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens for a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

Pregame analysis and predictions of the Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals NHL game to be played on April 30, 2025 on ESPN.

The Capitals cracked the code at Bell Centre, beating the Canadiens 5-2 and going up 3-1 in their first-round series.