“We’ve got a group here that believes,” said the Canadiens forward, Brendan Gallagher, ahead of the 2025 first-round playoffs. On Monday, Montreal will begin this year’s Stanley Cup seven-game series by taking on the Washington Capitals at the Capital One Arena. With that, Gallagher and the boys will have to face the intimidating Alex Ovechkin, fresh off his record-making sprint. Naturally, having the gall to stand up to such a towering foe under the present circumstances could take you a long way. But some Canadiens stars might be taking things a little too far.

Scoring his 895th career goal a couple of weeks ago, Alex Ovechkin rewrote the NHL lore. Surpassing the “Great One”, Wayne Gretzky, was once thought impossible, but the Caps’ captain achieved the feat in a thunderous manner. And while the “Gr8 Chase” has ended, the milestone will justifiably motivate his teammates to make the achievement more memorable by winning the Stanley Cup. But it seems like the excitement of having to lock horns with the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed is already seeping through the Montreal locker room.

Patrick Laine’s potshot at Alex Ovechkin could have a rationale behind it

On Saturday, the Canadiens hit the rink for an important skating session ahead of their first-round playoff game. After the training, several journalists caught up with Patrick Laine, the Finnish national, to wriggle out a statement on his feelings about the imminent face-off against Alex Ovechkin, whom the former previously had admitted was his childhood idol. But the Montreal right wing didn’t have many words to spare. “Doesn’t matter. Couldn’t care less,” Laine didn’t beat around the bush, and instead, his nonchalance caught people off guard. However, the Capitals beat reporter, Sammi Silber, took to X soon after on April 19 to remind the community how it could actually be the calm-before-the-storm talking from Patrick.

Advising that Laine’s comment on Alex Ovechkin should be taken “with a grain of salt,” the Caps reporter posited that the comment pivots on the upcoming playoffs. “It’s not meant to stir the pot. He’s a laid-back guy and has said before he’s an Ovi fan. Just honest in context of playoffs & playing hard despite opponent,” Silber’s social media update says. Unfounded claims? Maybe not. Even more so when you take into consideration that Patrick’s admiration of the Russian is public knowledge.

In 2018, in an interview with Players’ Tribune, the Canadiens star revealed that getting on the PlayStation with Alex Ovechkin would “be sick.” In the same interview, Laine also hailed the then-soon-to-be-crowned Stanley Cup champs’ star as his “first idol.” Pretty big words. However, since his rookie year of 2005-06, Ovechkin’s incredible skill with the stick and the puck has had similar effects on everyone, including those who laced up in the NHL after him. But while such banter only adds to the anticipation for the upcoming Caps vs. Habs seven-game series, let’s take a moment to actually ponder who indeed holds the upper hand at the moment.

Who has the momentum with them?

With 111 points to their name, the Washington Capitals have clinched the Division and also the top seed in the Eastern Conference. On March 20, Alex Ovechkin’s side became the first side to qualify for this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, which wrapped up its regular season with a brilliant 51-22-9 record. However, dark clouds still hover overhead. In their last 10 matches, Coach Carbery’s boys have won only three. While winning and losing are part of the game, it’s the margin of two of those defeats that shocked the fans.

In the last two regular-season matches against the Blue Jackets earlier this month, Ovechkin and the Caps were blown away by 7-0 and 4-1 margins. A tough pill to swallow, especially for the team with Alex. Unsurprisingly, though, in the first of these two matches, the Russian was off the lineup, which would explain the incredible gap between the two teams. Fans were justifiably livid and didn’t want to see such experiments again. The Caps’ final game of the regular season also saw them taking a beating at the hands of Pittsburgh (5-2), despite the captain scoring his 897th career goal.

The Canadiens, on the other hand, are coming to the playoffs hot, with 7 victories in their last 10 games. Along with Lane Hutson’s stellar 66-point season, rookie defenseman Larry Murphy has also made quite an impact with his superior assists. But will all that be enough to subdue Ovechkin and the Capitals? Tell us your thoughts below!