Forget everything you think about the Montreal Canadiens' performance in the first two games against the Washington Capitals and look forward to the first home playoff game at the Bell Centre since 2021. If you're looking for a packed stadium, it goes back even farther than that, as there were limited crowds that year due to the pandemic. Montreal might look like they are in an insurmountable hole, but no one should rule out the possibility of them stealing a couple of wins at home.
How to Watch Capitals vs. Canadiens Game 3
Date: Friday, April 25, 2025
Time: 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT
Venue: Capital One Arena
How to Watch: TNT, truTV, MAX, CBC, SN, TVAS, MNMT, FuboTV
What do the Canadiens have to do to make that a reality? First, they'll need to stop getting bullied by the Capitals. Tom Wilson and Alex Ovechkin have been hitting everything that moves, and Washington's energy lines are physically dominating at times. It's a crash course on what it'll take for the Canadiens' young players to be contenders, and it might not be the end of the world for them to get a taste of it this year. However, Montreal's fans aren't looking to the future. They want to be contenders now.
The good news is that the Canadiens have been getting some great goaltending from Sam Montembeault, and you must believe their offense will have some positive regression. They've generated some offensive opportunities, but their finishing has been below-average, and it starts with some of their best scorers. Patrik Laine has been particularly disappointing, as it got so bad in Game 2 that Martin St. Louis benched him for the entire third period.
They say you aren't in trouble in a series until you lose a game at home, and the Bell Centre crowd will hope to propel their beloved team to two consecutive wins and a tie series. Splitting these two games is a hole that the Canadiens might not be able to crawl out of, even though plenty of teams have rallied from a 3-1 deficit before.