It’s starting to feel like 2010 all over again.
The Montréal Canadiens just barely squeaked their way to a postseason spot. Down to their final game of the season, they needed a victory against the Carolina Hurricanes this past Wednesday, getting just that as they won 4-2 to clinch their first postseason berth since their run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021.
Similarly, the Capitals just barely made it to the 2024 postseason, finishing with the same number of points as the Detroit Red Wings (91) but finishing with five more regulation wins. After tons of off-season moves, they finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference, clinching the last two postseason berths (in 2024 and 2025).
The two teams have matched up once in the postseason, and the similarities are shocking. That season, the Capitals finished with 121 points, winning the Presidents’ Trophy. On the other hand, the Canadiens finished with 88 points, putting them as the eighth seed.
It was the Canadiens that jumped out to a 1-0 series lead, as netminder Jaroslav Halák saved 45 of 47 shots with Tomáš Plekanec scoring the game-winning goal in overtime. However, the Capitals won the next three games, Game 2 by a score of 6-5 in overtime, 5-1 the following game, and 6-3 in Game 4.
Now on the brink of a first-round exit, the Canadiens returned to the United States capital for Game 5, defeating them 2-1. Halák saved 37 of 38 shots in the victory. Game 6 was another close one, but the Canadiens won 4-1 with Halák making an incredible 53 saves on 54 shots to set up a winner-take-all Game 7.
No eighth-seeded team had overcome a 3-1 deficit up to this point in time, but when former Edmonton Oiler Marc-André Bergeron opened the scoring, you could sense that the Canadiens were going to be the first. Dominic Moore scored an insurance goal with under four minutes left, and it’s a good thing he did, as Brooks Laich scored a minute and 20 seconds later. 
It wasn’t enough for the Capitals, as they fell 2-1 in Game 7. As for the Canadiens, they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games in the semifinals. Montréal eventually fell to the seventh-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals, but what a run this was for the league’s oldest franchise.
As for the moves before the trade deadline, the Canadiens mainly stood pat, adding Alexandre Carrier in December. Toward the end of the season, their fifth overall pick in the 2024 draft, Ivan Demidov, came to North America and scored in his first game. He’ll be a big boost to their postseason hopes.
The Capitals didn’t do much before the trade deadline either. In November, they traded for Lars Eller, a player both the Capitals and Canadiens are familiar with. On Mar. 7, the Capitals acquired Anthony Beauvillier for a 2025 second-round pick.
Could we see another 2010-like performance from the Canadiens? Time will tell, as Game 1 is on Monday at 5:00 PM MT.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.