It's hard to believe how much the Montreal Canadiens dominated the Washington Capitals early in their franchise. The Capitals joined the NHL in 1974-75, at the height of the Canadiens' powers. However, in the parity of the NHL in the modern days, you would think the Canadiens would find a way to lose some games against Washington. However, the Capitals didn't win a game against the Canadiens until 1979-80.
The Canadiens went undefeated in 34 consecutive matchups until Washington finally won 3-1 on February 19, 1980. Despite the early success for the Canadiens, the series since then has gone south for Montreal. The Canadiens now hold a 87-79-17-5 record all-time against the Capitals. During the run in the 1970s, the Canadiens scored 10+ goals in five games, with their biggest win margins being 11-0, 10-0, 11-1, 10-2, 10-3, and 7-0.
The Canadiens and Capitals have plenty of history, and they've been in the same conference for most of the history. However, the stars haven't aligned enough for them to meet in the postseason many times. It's unfortunate that they didn't, as a couple more epic playoff rounds between Alex Ovechkin and Carey Price would've been legendary. The 2010 first round meeting was a small sample, but Price played in just two games.
Canadiens-Capitals Playoff History
The 2010 first-round matchup between these teams was an epic back-and-forth affair. The Canadiens entered the playoffs as the eighth-seed but upset the Presidents Trophy-winning Capitals. The Canadiens won Game 1 in overtime by a 3-2 score, and then the Capitals returned the favor with a 6-5 victory in overtime in Game 2. The time came for Jaroslav Halak to take over the crease for Montreal, and he didn't disappoint.
Halak had a 4-2 record in the series, owning a .939 save percentage. He stopped 217 of 231 shots, including an unbelievable 53-save performance in a Game 6 victory to keep the Canadiens' playoff hopes alive. Montreal won Games 5, 6, and 7 to advance to the second round.
The Canadiens advanced through the conference semifinals after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games. However, they met a tough seventh seed in the Philadelphia Flyers, who beat them in five.