Patrik Laine 'couldn't care less' about facing Alex Ovechkin in Capitals vs Canadiens Round 1 battle

Patrik Laine and the Montreal Canadiens have their sights set on upsetting the Washington Capitals in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After clinching their spot in the postseason with a 4-2 win over Carolina on Wednesday night, Montreal has had to quickly shift its focus to Washington.

The Canadiens will enter the series as big underdogs, facing a tremendous challenge of taking down the top seed in the Eastern Conference. They went 1-2-0 against the Capitals during the regular season, though both of those losses came prior to Montreal's big turnaround.

Preparation for Game 1 continued on Saturday, where Patrik Laine spoke to the media after practice. He was asked what it means to face the greatest goal scorer of all time, Alex Ovechkin, in the playoffs. Laine had no interest in pumping the tires of the Great 8 ahead of their first-round matchup. B/R Open Ice shared the clip with his response on X (formerly Twitter).

"Doesn't matter, couldn't care less," Laine said.

It's all business for Patrik Laine and the Montreal Canadiens come playoff time. Laine has one year remaining after this season on his four-year, $34,800,000 contract with the Habs after being acquired from Columbus in an offseason trade.

Patrik Laine's first season with the Montreal Canadiens had some ups and downs

There was some good and some bad for Patrik Laine during his first season in Montreal.

The 27-year-old suffered a knee injury in a preseason game that delayed his Habs debut until December 3. He returned with a bang, scoring goals in six of his first nine games as a Canadien. The fan base had instantly fallen in love with the Finnish sniper.

However, the consistency waned throughout the rest of the season. Laine finished with 33 points (20 goals, 13 assists) in 52 games played, while averaging a career-low of 14:18 minutes of ice time per game. 15 of his 20 goals came on the power play, as he struggled to produce much at even strength. Montreal will need Patrik Laine to be at his best in the playoffs if they want to keep up with the Capitals.

Laine and the Canadiens will kick off their first-round series in Washington against the Capitals when Game 1 goes down on Monday night. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST at Capital One Arena.