In one of the unlikeliest scenarios imaginable, the No. 8-ranked Montreal Canadiens won their third consecutive playoff game Monday night at the Verizon Center, beating the No. 1-seeded Washington Capitals 2-1 in Game 7 of the NHL Playoffs 2010.
The Canadiens advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs!
Montreal used a goal in the first and third periods to beat the Capitals. The first score came with 30 seconds left in the first period, when Marc-Andre Bergeron scored a power-play goal off assists from Scott Gomez and Andrei Markov.
After a scoreless second period, the Canadiens opened up a 2-0 lead late in the third thanks to a goal from Dominic Moore. Hal Gill earned an assist on the play.
Meanwhile, it took more than 57 minutes for Washington to tally their first score of the contest after Brooks Laich put the biscuit in the basket. Moore was assisted by perennial All-Star Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.
However, the Caps couldn't muster the game-tying goal despite a few chances down the stretch.
Montreal Canadiens v Washington Capitals - Game Five
Montreal's Jaroslav Halak was impressive in net, stopping 41-of-42 shots-on-goal. In the loss, Caps netminder Semyon Varlamov made 14 saves on 16 SOG. Halak really was the difference maker in this one, shutting the door on the Capitals despite a flurry of shots coming his way on the evening.
The Canadiens move on to play the 2009 Stanley Cup-winning No. 2-ranked Pittsburgh Penguins. The second-round series kicks-off Friday night.
