The Capitals and Canadiens met in the postseason for the first time in over a decade in a tense, physical series. Montreal entered with late-season momentum and confidence. Washington believed in its roster despite outside doubts. Montreal’s Game 3 victory served as a wakeup call, while Game 4 featured a major Tom Wilson hit and a subsequent goal that shifted momentum toward Washington. Game 3 included a viral bench brawl between Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson and taunting of Juraj Slafkovsky. Arber Xhekaj said the skirmish began with chirping by goaltender Jakub Dobes after an injury to Sam Montembeault. Rasmus Sandin previously spent parts of four seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and faced Montreal in the 2020-21 first round.
It was as a fun series to play. Montreal, they were really good at the end of the regular season, first, so they came in with a lot of confidence. We knew what we were all about, too. I think we all knew that we were a good team, even though a lot of guys on the outside did not think we were that good.
And then obviously, Game 3, when they beat us in Montreal, it was kind of a wakeup call for us a little bit, too. Game 4, and Tom (Wilson) makes that big hit before we score a goal, win that game, we kind of knew. I think that sparked a little bit, too, where a little bit of the hate came from.
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