The Montreal Canadiens were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Washington Capitals with a 4-1 loss in Game 5 of the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round at Capital One Arena in Washington on Wednesday. Montreal lost all three of its road games in the series.

The Canadiens' youth will be a problem for the NHL for years, but the impact of their veterans must be considered as the rebuild continues.

Alex Ovechkin scored on a laser of a shot off a faceoff, Logan Thompson made some spectacular saves among his 28 and the Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 in Game 5 of their first-round series Wednesday night to advance in the NHL playoffs.

The Capitals, who had lost five straight playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, advanced to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. Carolina defeated the New Jersey Devils in five games in its first-round series.

The Washington Capitals were simply too good for the Montreal Canadiens, who saw their 2024-25 NHL season end Wednesday night following a 4-1 loss to Alex Ovechkin and the Caps at Capital One Arena in Washington.

The Washington Capitals looked every bit like the top team in the Eastern Conference most of the time in winning their first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens in five games.