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.

Connor McMichael and Dylan Strome scored a minute apart early in the second period, Logan Thompson made some spectacular stops among his 25 saves and the Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round series.

The Washington Capitals have a 2-0 lead in their sights as they return to Capital One Bank Arena for Game 2 of their NHL Playoffs series with the Montreal Canadiens.