Capitals-Canadiens: Round One Playoff Preview

Firepower vs. Firepower.

On one side are the Washington Capitals and their offensive firepower. We all know what Alex Ovechkin and his ridiculous individual talents bring to the table. But this season he was not the only 100 point scorer on his team. He has Nicklas Backstrom (101 points). Nor was he the only 40 goal scorer on his team. He has Alexander Semin (40 goals).

In the NHL almost every team has a dynamic top line that puts up jaw-dropping stats. But what sets the Capitals apart from every other team in the league is their secondary scoring.

Once you sift through the Hart Trophy nominees and Rocket Richard candidates you will find players that would probably be, or have been at one point, top line players on any other team.

Mike Knuble, Brooks Laich, and Tomas Fleischmann bring another wave of scoring to the table that have often left opposing teams scratching their heads after games. Can't forget about Mike Green's 76 points in 75 games coming from the back end as well.

On the other side is the firepower of the Montreal Canadiens fan base.

This is a fan base built on pride and passion, and sometimes, all out craziness.

It's a fan base of longevity and success. The Canadiens own 24 Stanley Cup titles. By far the most in the NHL. But what they have not done is win one since 1993. This has without a doubt fired up their fans.

As recently as two years ago they were the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. In those playoffs they were pushed to a game seven in what was supposed to be an easy series against the Boston Bruins in round one. In the second  round they lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games.

Last season they received the eight seed and were swept in the first round by those same Bruins. This lead to major offseason changes. Ushered out were names like Koivu, Kovalev, Higgins, Komisarek, Tanguay, and Lang. Replaced by Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri, Bergeron and Spacek.

This season they have gone 3-4-3 in their last 10 to just barely secure the eight seed again. Their reward is a matchup with the Capitals.

The Capitals are the favorites by a wide margin. But that doesn't mean a thing to Canadiens fans. Another first round exit will not sit well with them at all, no matter who the opponent is.

Here is a look at how the teams stack up against one another.

Regular Season Matchups

MTL 3 WSH 2

WSH 4 MTL 3

WSH 4 MTL 2

MTL 6 WSH 5

Tied 2-2

Washington Offense vs. Montreal Defense

Washington Offense: 1st in league

Montreal Defense : 13th in league

Edge: Washington

Montreal Offense vs. Washington Defense

Montreal Offense: 26th

Washington Defense: 16th

Sure the Capitals defense is very mediocre and will not scare opposing teams the way their offense does. When you are constantly carrying two or three goal leads early in the game, who cares? Montreal on the other hand is not built to be a come from behind team.

Edge: Washington

Special Teams

Washington power play: 1st

Montreal penalty kill: 12th

Montreal power play: 2nd

Washington penalty kill: 25th

Overall Edge: Montreal

Goaltending

Jaroslav Halak, MTL: 26-13-5, 2.40 GAA, .924 SV %

Jose Theodore, WSH: 30-7-7, 2.81 GAA, .909 SV %

Goaltending seems to be the ultimate concern for Washington. It is the reason why they are not the overwhelming favorite to be holding the cup in June. Theodore's win totals are a bit inflated. He has won many games giving up three goals. This could hurt them down the road in the playoffs.

Theodore also has to watch his back with Semyon Varlamov also in the mix. Last season he got the hook, one bad start and the sea of red in the stands will be calling for it again.

On the other hand, Jaroslav Halak has played very well for Montreal since picking up the bulk of the starts over Carey Price and gives Montreal a chance every night.

Edge: Montreal

Series Prediction

Montreal has a fighting chance if it spends a lot of time on the power play or if Theodore is not up to the task again this year. No doubt about it Washington needs a confident goalie in net to back up the offense to go far. The unfortunate thing is for Montreal, these concerns won't matter much in this series. Washington in 5