They finished atop the East, but also lost eight of their final 12 regular-season games while focused on getting Ovechkin the record and resting players with first place in the conference wrapped up.

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.

With the Great Chase over now that Alexander Ovechkin has broken the all-time goal record, the team’s focus is on the postseason.