The Canadiens took the hard road to get to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, breaking down doors along the way and fast-tracking their graduation from rebuilding team to contending team. That's as far as they could take it this season. The Washington Capitals made sure of that.

The Washington Capitals looked every bit like the top team in the Eastern Conference most of the time in winning their first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens in five games.

The Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the first round of the NHL playoffs. The game kicked off on home ice for the Caps at Capital One Arena Wednesday night. The Capitals won Sunday 5-2 over the Canadiens for a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.