Aliaksei Protas could play for the Capitals in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, ESPN, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS, CBC), but coach Spencer Carbery would not commit to that Monday.

If the answer is “no,” that’s OK. Montreal nearly backed its way into the playoffs and the Washington Capitals hit a rough patch of their own. Still, this matchup brings a whole bunch of juice — the most prolific goal scorer of all time, the East’s top team and the return of postseason hockey to one of the sport’s true epicenters.

The second Sunday of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs is here. There will not be any teams eliminated following the four matchups, but each game is nonetheless pivotal as we move closer to the second round.

Andrew Mangiapane scored the go-ahead goal with just under four minutes remaining, Brandon Duhaime had two goals and Logan Thompson made 16 saves to lead the Washington Capitals to a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens for a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

The Capitals cracked the code at Bell Centre, beating the Canadiens 5-2 and going up 3-1 in their first-round series.

Andrew Mangiapane scored the go-ahead goal with 3:37 remaining in the third period and the visiting Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Sunday night.