The Montreal Canadiens’ Time Warp: Are We Back in 2010?

It is astounding, time is fleeting, and now madness has taken control. Let me describe something and let’s see if you can figure out what I am describing.

The Montreal Canadiens have limped into the playoffs, and are the last team that clinches the playoffs. They are the worst team in their division to make the playoffs and are heavily outmatched in their first-round matchup. They are playing one of the best offensive teams in the league, with a player that finished in the top three in goal-scoring in the regular season, and two players in the top five in point-scoring in the regular season.

In the first game, on enemy soil, the Montreal Canadiens steal a tight one, by one goal. The next game is won by the opponent for a nice split coming back to Montreal. Then, Montreal loses both home games – Game 4 in humiliating fashion – and faces a must-win Game 5 on the road. They win that game and also win the sixth game on home ice in front of a raucous crowd, and force a decisive Game 7.

Sounds like what is currently happening right now, right?
Toronto is supposed to steam-roll Montreal: no expert predicted Montreal would win this series.
A top-three goal-scorer in the league: Rocket Richard Trophy winner Auston Matthews.
And two players in the top five in point-scoring: Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

But the exact same can be said about the 2010 Washington Capitals. They were supposed to destroy the Montreal Canadiens. They had a top-three goal-scorer in the league that year (Alexander Ovechkin), and two players in the top five in point scoring (Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom).

Toronto Vs. Washington

So, both Toronto and Washington were very good regular season teams, that have struggled in the playoffs. In Washington, this was still a pretty young Ovechkin (24), that did not seem to have that great of a team around him, especially on defence. What Montreal has done this year might be even more impressive.

Washington Roster 2010

Alexander Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – Mike Knuble

Tomas Fleischmann – Brendan Morrison – Alex Semin

Brooks Laich – David Steckel – Chris Clark

Quintin Lang – Boyd Gordon – Eric Fehr

Mike Green – Tom Poti

Jeff Schultz – Shaone Morissonn

Bryan Pothier – Milan Jurcina

Jose Theodore

Semyon Varlamov

If you want to talk about top-heavy with no defence, this is it. Backstrom, Ovechkin, Semin, Green and Laich all had great years offensively, and Schultz had a solid year defensively with a +/- of +50. This was before defencemen Karl Alzner and John Carlson would come up and help on the back end. Former Hab goaltender Theodore was at the tail end of his career and Semyon Varlamov was still unproven goods.

Toronto Roster 2021

Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner

Alex Galchenyuk – John Tavares – William Nylander

Ilya Mikheyev – Nick Foligno – Wayne Simmonds

Joe Thornton – Alexander Kerfoot – Jason Spezza

Morgan Reilly – T.J. Brodie

Jake Muzzin – Justin Holl

Rasmus Sandin/Travis Dermott – Zach Bogosian

Jack Campbell

Frederick Anderson

First off, the defence and depth for Toronto are much better than for Washington. It is still unclear for how long Jack Campbell can keep up this elite play, since it’s one of his first chances of being a starter in the league. But, right now, he is playing great. Reilly, Brodie and Muzzin are a great mix of solid offence and defence.

One thing to note is that even with the injury to Tavares in Game 1, Toronto still has great centre depth, something that Washington did not have. Marner is the Backstrom to Matthews’ Ovechkin, and Nylander and Semin could be comparable.

It is impossible to say which has the better team, as the game has changed so much in just these 10 years. 2010 was just a few years away from the L.A. Kings mini-dynasty, which depended on physical play and cycling low to create offence. Now, building your team slow and big is a death sentence in an NHL built on youth and speed. But, I think I would have to say that the 2021 Maple Leafs are a better team than the 2010 Washington Capitals.

Montreal Canadiens 2010 Lines

Mike Cammalleri – Tomas Plekanec – Andre Kostitsyn

Benoit Pouliot – Scott Gomez – Brian Gionta

Tom Pyatt – Dominic Moore – Maxim Lapierre

Mathieu Darche – Glenn Metropolit – Sergei Kostitsyn

Hal Gill – Josh Gorges

Roman Hamrlik – P.K. Subban

Andre Markov – Jaroslav Spacek

Jaroslav Halak

Carey Price

This Montreal team is clearly not as good as the one that is fielded in 2021. Montreal has struggled to score for a long time now, and this roster really shows it. Cammalleri is the closest thing that this team has to a goal scorer, and that is not saying a whole lot. The defence is solid, and might be better than the current iteration, but that offence is horrendous looking.

Montreal Canadiens & Toronto Maple Leafs: History Tends to Repeat Itself

It is not just Montreal fans who might be getting a sense of deja vu. The Maple Leafs did not make the playoffs in 2010, but if you fast forward a few years, there is a pattern of failure that most people have pointed out.

In 2013, a lockout-shortened year, the Toronto Maple Leafs made the playoffs. It was surprising, as Toronto was not supposed to be good. That year was sandwiched by two seasons where Toronto did not make the playoffs. Toronto drew against Boston, which interestingly finished fourth in the Eastern Conference, even though they had more points than Washington. But, it was because of the old playoff format.

Toronto played Boston well, and extended the series to seven games, where Boston came back in amazing fashion after being down 4-1 in the third period. It wasn’t all bad. Toronto was not supposed to be great, and Boston demolished everyone in their path (4-1 series versus the Rangers and a sweep of the Penguins) before being beaten in the finals by the Chicago dynasty.

Years of no playoffs followed for the Leafs before they rebuilt their team to the current core. After losing to Washington in the first round the year before, in Matthews’ rookie year, Toronto was finally looking for success in the playoffs and was coming up against a familiar foe, the Boston Bruins.

What do you know, that series went the distance as well, where it was an offensive showcase, ending with Boston getting the upper hand at the end by a score of 7-4. But, that is just one series for a team that is still young. Add a year of experience and one John Tavares, and it should be different, right?

Well, we got to see that the very next year, and the result was very similar. The series was pretty even, as you would expect for a series that once again went to seven games. However, the deciding Game 7 was not, as Boston easily handled Toronto and sent them packing with a 5-1 win.

Boston is a very good team and has been one for a long time. No big shame losing to the best. Do you know who is not the best? The Columbus Blue Jackets. And that is who the Maple Leafs drew against in the play-in round last year after the COVID-19 pause. It should have been an easy win for the Leafs, who had high hopes in the playoffs.

The series did not reach seven games, but that was only because it was a best-of-five series. And of course, it went to five games. Toronto’s high-powered offence was stifled by Columbus’ defence and goaltending, and was shutout 3-0.

So, Toronto has lost the last three first rounds in the final game. Montreal has won a series that is about as similar to this one as it can get. History is on the Montreal Canadiens’ side, and the thing about history is that the Toronto Maple Leafs are doomed to repeat it.