Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals Preview, Time, TV, Stream
The Montreal Canadiens are looking to make it three wins in a row as they’re on the road to take on the Washington Capitals.
It’s been a relatively positive start for the Montreal Canadiens so far this season. Their latest game against the Columbus Blue Jackets nearly went south if not for the heroics of Tomas Tatar, who scored the tying goal in the final minute, and Carey Price, who stopped everything in overtime and the shootout.
Tatar found himself on the third line as Jonathan Drouin got the promotion to play with Philip Danault and Brendan Gallagher. Drouin has been the more consistent player of the two, but Tatar’s penalty troubles haven’t put him in the best light as of late. That goal, however, lightened things up as it led to the Habs getting the win.
Can the Montreal Canadiens make it three-in-a-row?
The Washington Capitals have been trending in the right direction as well going 8-2 in their last ten games. Six of those ten games have gone beyond regulation, a clean split between overtime and the shootout. As usual, the Caps’ offence led by Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Svechnikov, have been pushing them forward this season. However, the not-so-surprise surprise story in John Carlson is one that has taken the league by storm.
The 30-year-old is leading the team in scoring with eight goals and 22 assists for 30 points in 20 games (first amongst all defencemen and fifth in the league in scoring). It looks as if Carlson is going for the Norris trophy this year as his point production hasn’t taken away from his ability to prevent scoring chances.
An area of the Caps the Montreal Canadiens may be able to exploit is their goaltending. Brayden Holtby has looked relatively mediocre this season as his .903 save percentage is below league average (.908). He has turned it on in his last four games with a 4-0-0 record and a .938 save percentage.
The Habs will need to play with structure and not get caught in a run-and-gun match with the Capitals. Carey Price has made some solid stops on Ovechkin in the past, but the team can’t expect him to stop them all.
Line Combinations
With Ryan Poehling getting sent back to the Laval Rocket, Jordan Weal is drawing back into the lineup on the right side of Nate Thompson. Jesperi Kotkaniemi is still waiting to return to the team, and although he won’t play in tonight’s game, Claude Julien told media Thursday there’s hope for him to play this weekend. Perhaps that comes Saturday against the New Jersey Devils.