NHL analyst and former NHL defenseman Kevin Bieksa took apart Montreal Canadiens center Christian Dvorak for his faceoff loss leading to a crucial power play by Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin.

During the first intermission of Game 6 between the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals, Bieksa pointed out how Dvorak lost a faceoff that led to Ovechkin’s power play tally.

Bieksa stated:

“This goal, off of a faceoff is preventable… it’s pretty simple. Win it back to him (Ovechkin) and he’s going to shoot this as hard as he can.”

The set play allows Ovechkin to get a one-timer, leaving the Habs with little to no time to react to the shot. Bieksa added:

“Now, the way you defend it is Anderson has to come out in that lane. Anderson needs one to two seconds to get in that lane, which means, the centerman can’t lose the draw clean. 50/50, lost it after a scrum, whatever you have it. But if you lose this clean, there’s no Anderson is getting into this lane.”

Surely enough, Dvorak lost the draw cleanly, the puck came back to Ovechkin and the shot whizzed past Canadiens netminder Jakub Dobes.

Bieksa concluded his thoughts by highlighting another play in which the Habs center won the draw cleanly, negating Ovechkin’s shot. However, Bieksa was adamant about the need to clog up faceoffs in order to give the rest of the skaters on the ice enough time to get into position.

Montreal Canadiens lose Game 5, eliminated from 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Montreal Canadiens suffered a devastating defeat in Game 5, 4-1, bringing their 2025 Stanley Cup playoff run to an end.

The Capitals scored twice on the power play, with Ovechkin and Tom Wilson getting the markers. Jakob Chychrun added his second of the postseason, as Brandon Duhaime scored an empty-netter to seal the win.

Emil Heineman got the Canadiens on the board early in the third period. However, the Habs were unable to close the gap, essentially running out of time to tie the game.

For Montreal, the disappointing end to their season caps off what has been an otherwise successful campaign. The Habs were not among early picks to make the postseason.

Yet, they landed the final wild card spot and were hardly an easy out for the Capitals.

As for the Capitals, they will meet the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs in the Eastern Conference bracket. The Hurricanes eliminated the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night, setting up the showdown between the two bitter Metro Division rivals.

The Canadiens, meanwhile, will get an early start to their summer as they look to build on the positive from this past season.