Led by Jaroslav Halak's spectacular, acrobatic goaltending, the Canadiens slowed Alex Ovechkin and the rest of the Capitals' high-powered offense to complete an unlikely comeback and eliminate the NHL's best regular-season team in the first round.

Halak made 41 saves, Marc-Andre Bergeron scored during a 4-on-3 in the last 30 seconds of the opening period Wednesday night, and eighth-seeded Montreal held on to beat host Washington 2-1 in Game 7, stunning the Presidents' Trophy winners by reeling off three consecutive victories.

The Canadiens are the ninth No. 8 team to knock off a No. 1 in 32 matchups since the NHL went to its current playoff format in 1994 — the first to rally from a 3-1 series deficit.

Dominic Moore made it 2-0 with 31/2 minutes left in the third. Brooks Laich cut Washington's deficit to a goal by poking home a shot with 2:16 left.

Top coach finalists: Rookie Joe Sacco, who led the Avalanche on a surprising run to the playoffs, along with the Coyotes' Dave Tippett and Predators' Barry Trotz were selected as finalists for the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year.AP