The Montreal Canadiens are the most successful hockey team in the history of the NHL, with 24 Stanley Cup titles (the most in the sport) and legions of legendary performers like Maurice Richard, Guy Lafleur, and, more recently, Patrick Roy. They are one of the NHL's original six franchises, and as such are considered one of the iconic teams in the sport. The Washington Capitals, on the other hand, have never enjoyed similar success in the postseason (zero Stanley Cups), and have only been in the league since 1974.http://capitals.nhl.com/club/page.htm?bcid=his_yearbyyear7475 They have, however, been a regular presence in the Stanley Cup playoffs since the mid-1980s, but have never been able to break through for a title.

In 2010, the Caps have one of the league's best players in Alex Ovechkin, and sport the league's best record. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/2010/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=5076578 As such, regardless of the historical greatness of the eighth-seeded Canadiens, the Caps are the overwhelming pick to win the series. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/377058-nhl-playoff-preview-1-washington-capitals-vs-8-montreal-canadiens

The Caps and the Canadiens are not thought of as having a significant rivalry. In fact, the teams have never before met in the playoffs. Part of this stems from the fact that it's hard for two teams' with such unequal histories to have achieved rivalry status, but much of it is also look. The Caps historical tormenter in the playoffs is the Pittsburgh Penguins, while the Canadians have had significant series with pretty much every other longtime Eastern Conference team outside of the Capitals.

There is, however, one very important piece of history connecting the two squads, at least for Caps fans. After a mediocre first decade of existence that led to talk that the Capitals might leave the capital, Washington acquired defenseman Rod Langway in 1982, a trade that gave the team its captain and identity, secured the future in Washington, and led to a series of playoff runs over the next decade-plus. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/04/when_montreal_traded_rod_langw.html

The Caps and Canadiens met four times in 2009-10, with each team winning twice. In Montreal, the Caps won a 4-3 game in a shootout on November 28, while the Habs took a February 2 game in overtime, by the score of 6-5. The first game of the year in Washington took place on November 28, which Montreal won 3-2. The second leg occurred on January 5, with the Caps winning 4-2.http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/teamvsteamdetails.htm?season=20092010&team=WSH