The Montreal Canadiens are set to take on the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference series on Monday, and before Montreal got to Washington, veteran Brendan Gallagher detailed what his expectations are and how he is helping the young team prepare for a playoff series.

“We're excited,” Brendan Gallagher said, via Dave Stubbs of NHL.com. “We've had enough time as a group here to decompress, to get back to a level of focus that we need. Preparation has been going on here the last few days. … “I'm excited for the guys to be a part of this. It'll be nice to get to Washington, get settled in, and get ready for what the series has in store. We expect a long, physical series. It should be a lot of fun.”

Gallagher is in his 13th season in the NHL, and he has spent all of them with the Canadiens. His first season was in 2012-2013, and he was a part of the Canadiens team that was a contender for much of the 2010s. Now, he is a veteran leader for a young team that is looking to reestablish itself in the Eastern Conference. He should be a valuable voice for the Canadiens' younger players going through their first playoff series.

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The Capitals were one of the best teams in the NHL this season and earned the top spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. It is an interesting series between an experienced team, headlined by Alex Ovechkin trying to win a second Stanley Cup in the later stages of his career.

It will be interesting to see how players like Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and others fare for the Canadiens. If they can steal one of the first two on the road, Games 3 and 4 at the Bell Centre should be incredible atmospheres in these playoffs.