The Montreal Canadiens beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 Wednesday to complete a come-from-behind 4-3 series victory and the shock elimination of the NHL's best regular-season team in the first round of the playoffs. Led by Jaroslav Halak's spectacular, acrobatic goaltending, Montreal slowed Alex Ovechkin and the rest of Washington's high-powered offense to complete a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit against the team that many had favored to win the Stanley Cup. The Canadiens are the ninth No. 8-seeded team to knock off a No. 1 in 32 matchups since the NHL went to its current playoff format in 1994 - and the first to come back from a 3-1 series deficit. Halak made 41 saves, while Marc-Andre Bergeron scored a 4-on-3 goal in the last 30 seconds of the opening period and Dominic Moore put the visitors up 2-0 with 3-1/2 minutes left. Brooks Laich cut Washington's deficit to a goal by poking home a shot while down on his knees after Ovechkin put the puck on net off a rebound. That made it 2-1 with 2:16 left, and the Capitals kept pushing frantically forward, pulling their goalie for an extra attacker. A high-sticking penalty on Montreal defenseman Ryan O'Byrne with 1:44 to go put the Capitals on the power play, which they made a 6-on-4 skating edge with the goalie benched. But Halak was up to the task every time. His teammates piled on him at the final horn, while Ovechkin skated alone toward the other end of the ice, his stick resting on his knees, and his head bowed. The league's two-time MVP has played in four career playoff series, and each has gone to a Game 7. The Capitals are 1-3 in those deciding contests. Montreal, meanwhile, moves on to face the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins in the second round, with Game 1 at Pittsburgh on Friday. The fourth-seeded Penguins were the only higher-seeded team to win a first-round series in the Eastern Conference. All three division champions in the East are out already: Washington, New Jersey and Buffalo. This series represented a monumental collapse by Washington, which blew its big lead after entering the playoffs with such high hopes thanks to earning a third straight Southeast Division title, compiling the league's best record for the first time and leading the NHL in goals.
