You're Cooked: RIP to the Habs and the Lightning

Montreal, we loved ya down to the last Olé. Tampa Bay, we expected a little bit more.

Good morning, hockey fans. Both elimination games did their thing last night, so the Canadiens and the Lightning join the Devils in Cookedville USA.

RIP to the Habs

If the Devils were the most obvious first-round exit of the 2025 playoffs due to injury, the Canadiens were right behind them due to youth, strength of opponent, and eventually, injury.

As the prophecy foretold, Alex Ovechkin finally struck on a cold Capitals power play in Game 5 to open the scoring. Washington never really looked back after that on its way to a 4-1 win to close out the 4-1 series.

The last game of the series was a microcosm of the whole thing, and it’s exactly why these Habs endeared so many: They care, and they’re fun. They had an 8-1 shot advantage early in the first before the power play that Ovechkin scored two seconds into to break their spirit.

We ain’t angry at you, loves, you’re the greatest thing we lost in the first round. Or whatever Noah Kahan said.

Despite only winning one game, and despite some of the lopsided results, the Canadiens were in this series with a chance the entire time. With the exception of Game 5, they were either leading, tied, or within a goal during the third period of every game.

They stayed true to themselves to the bitter end, and for that we give them one final Olé.

Why It’s Over

1. *Pretends to be shocked* The best team in the East is actually good.

We all live in our own internet echo chambers, and I don’t know about yours, but mine was spewing a lot of weirdness about the 51-22-9 Capitals headed into the playoffs. Fans and media alike were wondering if the scoring (Washington had the second-most goals in the regular season) was a fluke. Folks were also wondering if Ovechkin was going to, I don’t know, randomly forget how to stop scoring goals? Or maybe they thought he wasn’t going to care after he broke the record?