Feisty Canadiens Stun Capitals in Overtime

Anyone who thought the Washington Capitals were going to trample the Montreal Canadiens in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series can think again.

The eighth-seeded Habs looked great on Thursday night in D.C., playing hard, fast, mistake-free hockey most of the evening and earning a well-deserved 3-2 overtime win against the top-seeded Capitals.

The Habs now lead the series 1-0, and if tonight's game is any indication, this is going to be one heck of a series.

After going 26-13-5 with a 2.40 GAA this season, Jaroslav Halak was decisive for the Habs, making 39 saves in regulation time and emerging as a clear and present threat to Washington's Cup aspirations. Halak had only played 20 minutes of playoff hockey before Thursday night.

Meanwhile, Jaroslav Spacek and his fellow blue-liners kept Alex Ovechkin from taking a single shot on goal for the first 60 minutes - a feat no other team has accomplished this season - significantly handicapping Washington's scoring potential.

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Ex-Habs general manager Bob Gainey's 2009 acquisitions Mike Cammalleri and Scott Gomez came through with a pair of goals, reminding fans that this is not the same team that was swept by the Boston Bruins in the quarterfinals last spring.

The top-seeded Capitals, who scored more goals (318) than any other team in the NHL this season and clinched the President's Trophy for the first time in club history, played great as well in front of a loud, sell-out crowd at the Verizon Center, but were simply shut down by the scrappy Habs.

The Caps got off to an explosive start, leading the shots on goal 8-1 in the opening minutes, but the Canadiens fought back, with Jacques Martin looking cool as a cucumber as his team went up 1-0 at 12:36 in the first period on a high shot by Cammalleri that slipped past Caps goalie Jose Theodore.

Joe Corvo tied it up at 15:33 in the first with a point lob that made it past Halak, who was screened by at least three players. After a scoreless second, Nicklas Backstrom received a pretty pass from Mike Knuble and gave the Caps the lead with a shot that went high on Halak 47 seconds into the third period.

The final equalizer came on a gorgeous passing play that recalled the old days in New Jersey, with Brian Gionta feeding Scott Gomez who put it home to send the game into overtime.

In OT, the already furious pace picked up, with both teams pressing hard and forcing the goalies to stand on their heads. After going 20-0-3 in his last 23 games before the playoffs, Jose Theodore was tested by a buoyant Habs offence, and eventually was beaten by Tomas Plekanec at 13:19 of the first overtime.

The Habs and Caps had never met in the post-season before and had played a tight season series in 2009-10, with each posting a record of 2-1-1 and neither winning a game by more than two goals.

The teams meet again for Game 2 in Washington on Saturday night. The series then moves to the Bell Centre for games on Monday and Wednesday.