April 23 vs. Montreal Canadiens at Capital One Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT, ESPN
Radio: 106.7 THE FAN, Caps Radio 24/7
Montreal Canadiens (40-31-11)
Washington Capitals (51-22-9)
Washington leads series, 1-0
In the wake of Monday’s series-opening 3-2 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens, the Caps were joyous and boisterous. But Tuesday morning brought seriousness and sorrow to the Caps’ room when they learned they’d lost defenseman Martin Fehervary for the remainder of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Just prior to a lightly attended optional practice Tuesday morning at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, the Caps announced that Fehervary sustained an injury to his right knee on April 15 against the Islanders in New York, Washington’s penultimate game of the regular season. On Monday, while his teammates were preparing for Game 1 of their Stanley Cup playoff series with Montreal, Fehervary underwent a successful surgical procedure to repair the meniscus, and he will miss the rest of the playoffs.
“It’s a massive loss for our team,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “I really feel for him and my heart hurts for him, because he’s an unsung hero for our team. And if you know the Washington Capitals and if you’re around our team and if you watch our team, he is someone that goes unnoticed, who the rest of the hockey world doesn’t pay much attention to, but he’s a big part of our team.”
Fehervary plays with snarl and tenacity, and throughout the course of most seasons – and especially this one – his visage becomes a magnet for mayhem in the form of pucks, sticks and other hazards of the occupation. He played in each of the team’s first 81 games of the season, missing only the finale and playing through plenty of bumps and bruises along the way.
“It’s tough, it’s obviously a huge loss for us,” says Caps defenseman Matt Roy, who skated more than 600 minutes at 5-on-5 with Fehervary – second most minutes of any Washington blueline tandem – this season. “He has had such a great year, and he competes hard for us, so he is definitely going to be missed.”
Among all NHL defensemen who appeared in at least 60 games this season, Fehervary is one of just 14 who have averaged more than five hits per 60 minutes of ice time and more than five blocked shots/60.
“He competes his butt off every single day, every single night; he lays it on the line,” says Carbery. “When you talk about sacrificing for your teammates, ask any one of our guys, Marty Fehervary is at the top of the list of guys that lays his body in front of any shot, sacrifice, going into battles at the net front. This guy takes so much friendly fire – sticks – and you can just go down the list of all the different things that have happened to him, and I know that he would want to be out there more than anybody with his teammates right now.”
As always in the game of hockey, it’s a next man up scenario now for Washington. The Caps carried eight defensemen all season, but their seventh and eighth blueliners – Alex Alexeyev and Dylan McIlrath – played in a combined total of 25 games all season, with most of those coming in the season’s first and last month.
“When you have injuries and guys go down, and they’re significant parts of your team, this is where the character of your group has to come through, and it has to start with the coaching staff,” says Carbery. “Marty's a great player; he's a big part of our team, but we absolutely can still win. No disrespect to Marty, but we can absolutely play well and still win hockey games without him, and that's not meant in a disrespectful way.
“That means that we have guys that can step into the lineup – like Alexander Alexeyev – and pick up the slack. And everybody inside of our group, not just our deep core, everyone inside of our group – forwards included, coaches included, goaltenders included – can do a little bit more to make up for losing a significant player. So that's the way that we look at it.”
And the defenseman who capably replaced Fehervary in the lineup for Monday’s series opener – Alexeyev – left the game in the third period after taking the full force of a follow through from Jake Evans’ stick blade.
Alexeyev is expected to be good to go for Wednesday’s Game 2, although he looks to be a few teeth lighter.
From Nov. 9 through March 30 of this season, the Caps had a remarkable stretch in which all six of their top defensemen remained in the lineup; they were all healthy and effective for 60 straight games, the equivalent of three-quarters of a season. And although the three pairings didn’t change much over that lengthy span, the Caps’ bench staff mixed and matched those six blueliners – three lefties and three righties – so that by season’s end, most were quite familiar with each other.
While Fehervary and Roy played frequently together as noted above, Roy also logged just under 400 minutes at 5-on-5 with Rasmus Sandin, with whom he was paired for Monday’s Game 1.
“We’re all a little bit familiar with each other, and some guys more than others,” says Roy. “Me and Sandy have played together quite a bit as well. So I think the transition should be pretty seamless, and it's just a matter of competing and executing.”
Entering the series, the Caps had health questions surrounding three players: Fehervary, goaltender Logan Thompson, and forward Aliaksei Protas. Today, they got closure on Fehervary. Thompson delivered a 33-save performance in a winning effort in Game 1, in his first game action since April 2. Protas has been sidelined since April 4 with a lower body injury, and he is still working his way back to peak health.
Monday’s series opener provided some good moments for both teams. The Caps were dominant in the first period, they held their own in the second, played well in the front half of the third, and weren’t very connected or in synch in the back half of the final frame.
The youthful and skilled Montreal squad weathered an early storm, got excellent goaltending from Sam Montembeault in his Stanley Cup playoff debut, and managed to erase a two-goal deficit in the game’s final 10 minutes to force overtime.
Game 1 could have gone either way, but Caps captain Alex Ovechkin notched his first career overtime game-winner in the Stanley Cup playoffs on Monday – his second goal of the game – doing so in the 48th overtime playoff game in which he has played.
Washington is seeking to protect home ice advantage, and Montreal knows it needs to win at least one game in the District to win the series.
Early in Game 1, the Caps were more assertive in the offensive zone. As the game wore on, Montreal was able to limit Washington’s zone time more. And in the back half of the third, the Habs had the Caps on the ropes, resulting in Nick Suzuki’s tying goal with 4:15 left.
“I thought when we had our foot on the gas, and we got pucks into good spots and forechecked, our game took off in the first and second period there. And I think as soon as we stop forechecking like we did in the first and the second, if you allow any team easy exits and set breakouts, it’s going to be tough not to be playing in the [defensive] zone.
“And if you spend enough time in your [defensive] zone, ultimately bad things are going to happen, right? Either they score or you get fortunate; it’s inevitable. Although it’s tough for 60 minutes to maintain that pace, I think we have to continue to do the little things to not allow them to play with so much pace in the third.”
Following a Tuesday practice, Habs coach Martin St. Louis was asked how much of his team’s early struggles in Game 1 could be chalked up to Game 1/playoff debut jitters of a young team, and how much of it was Washington’s forecheck and physicality.
“I think it’s both,” says St. Louis. “I think Washington is going to keep doing the same thing; they’re very good at it. Listen, they are where they are for a reason. This is a very good hockey team.
“Did we calm down through that game a little bit? Yes. I think our nerves were better the second half of that game. And I hope we can start the game [Wednesday] – which, for a young team, I don’t know – but I hope we can start the game in that kind of mindset. Just have a calm mind, understand what Washington is good at, and try to execute through that.”
