Habs hope for heroic, historic comeback against the Caps... again
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Heading into a do-or-die game five at the Capital One Arena in the U.S. capital, the Montreal Canadiens hope to achieve a heroic feat.
Heroic? Yes.
Historic? Not yet.
The hope of overcoming a three games to one deficit against the Washington Capitals, is not a fool’s hope, and one the Habs are among the top teams in the NHL at pulling off.
Of the 22 times a team has come back to win a series after being down 3-1, the Habs have done it three times. Along with the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers, it is the most any team has done it.
Do it against the Capitals, and the Habs would be top of the list.
All three times, the Habs were the lower seed (either seventh or eighth) playing one of the top teams heading into the playoffs, meaning all three times the do-or-die win came away from home.
Theodore’s golden goose egg seals it
Boston Bruins, 2004
Montreal entered the 2004 playoffs in the seventh spot (93 points), 11 points below the Bruins (104), two years after eliminating the Bruins in 2002.
In the series, Boston won the first two games (3-0 and 2-1) and then lost the third (2-3). The Bs then won a double-overtime game in the fourth matchup setting up a do-or-die game at home.
The Habs stormed back winning 5-1 and 5-2 in games five and six. Then goalie Jose Theodore shone in the deciding game and got the shutout, winning 2-0.
Fun trivia fact: Richard Zednik scored both goals in the final game.
Halak attack in fight back
Washington Capitals, 2010
Unlike the other two series against very familiar foes, the 2010 series against the Caps was the first between the two teams and one that has been discussed a whole lot in 2025.
The Habs (88 points) came in as massive underdogs against the President’s Cup winning Caps (121 points).
Montreal won game one in OT (3-2) and lost the second, again in OT (5-6). Washington then blew the Habs out in the next two games (5-1, 6-3) at the Bell Centre, setting up the elimination game in Washington.
Montreal won 2-1 in D.C. with one Jaroslav Halak solid between the pipes. Halak then led his tema to a 4-1 win at home before capping it with a 2-1 win in Washington to move on.
It is a series, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Ovechkin may have a memory or two of heading into Wednesday night.
Dawn of the Nick-Cole power duo
Toronto Maple Leafs, 2021
In the single strangest NHL season of recent memory thanks to COVID-19 restrictions, the “North Division” winning Leafs (77 points) faced the fourth place Habs (59 points) in the expanded playoff format. The teams played in front of handfuls of fans and everyone had a mask on. Remember that?
Montreal took the first game at Scotiabank Arena (2-1) and then lost three straight (5-1, 2-1, 4-0).
Game five, again away, again with the season on the line, went to overtime after Montreal blew a 3-0 lead. In overtime, not-yet-captain Nick Suzuki took a feed from rookie Cole Caufield and sniped home the winner.
The Canadiens again blew a lead in game six (2), and overtime was required. This time, Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored to win it.
Carey Price stopped 30 in game seven and the Leafs were left shaking heads and muttering something about how it was supposed to be their year… again.