The Washington Capitals took the Montreal Canadiens down in a five-game gentleman’s sweep during their first-round series in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Without watching, you would have assumed that the number-one-seeded Caps took care of the second-wild-card Canadiens with relative ease, but that wasn’t the case.
A young Montreal team fought tooth and nail in every game, which made for one of the most exciting Round 1 matchups from last postseason. Game 4 was particularly entertaining thanks to the fight between Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson that escalated into a bench brawl.
Capitals’ blue liner Rasmus Sandin was recently at the NHLPA European Player Media Tour and appeared on “32 Thoughts: The Podcast” with Elliotte Friedman, where he shared his thoughts on the mayhem, looking back on it now.
“When Josh and Tom was in the bench, too, fighting on the bench — literally — that was funny. The period was over, so half the team went in the tunnel and were like, ‘Where are all of the guys?’ So we went out and looked, and they were on the bench fighting. But, I mean, that’s what it’s supposed to be, too. That’s what made the series a little bit extra fun, too,” Sandin said.
“And then obviously, Game 3, when they beat us in Montreal, it was kind of a wakeup call for us a little bit, too. Game 4, and Tom makes that big hit before we score a goal, win that game, we kind of knew. I think that sparked a little bit, too, where a little bit of the hate came from,” Sandin added.
Sandin and the Capitals would ultimately get eliminated in five games by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.
Tom Wilson’s physicality took over the series
While all that went on at the end of the second period in Game 4 felt silly, the physical play of Tom Wilson in that series was a massive factor in the end result.
Down 2-1 in the third period of that same game, Wilson obliterated Alexandre Carrier, leading to an almost immediate Washington goal and comeback win.
Tom Wilson ROCKED Alexandre Carrier, leading to the Caps’ game-tying goal! 💥 pic.twitter.com/1YjY6cvyPZ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 28, 2025
Opposing fans love to hate him, but it’s impossible not to admit how impactful a player Tom Wilson is, especially come playoff time.
