The Montreal Canadiens will take on the Washington Capitals tonight in the second game of a back-to-back in the American capital.
Last April, the Montreal Canadiens surprised the hockey world by qualifying for the playoffs on the very last game of the regular season. Still, unfortunately for Martin St-Louis’ men, they had to take on the experienced Washington Capitals in the first round. Logan Thompson was solid in the series, Tom Wilson became a thorn in their side, and the young Habs learned how games are officiated in the playoffs after being eliminated in just five games.
If the Habs were looking for revenge this season when they first faced the Capitals on November 20, they failed, losing 8-4 with both Jakub Dobes and Samuel Montembeault taking part. This time around, Montreal will start with Montembeault, who flew to Washington early yesterday for a good night's rest before playing on Tuesday night. The Becancour native has a 2-3-0 record against tonight’s hosts with a 3.77 GAA and a .883 save percentage. Meanwhile, Dobes is 1-1-0 with a 3.71 GAA and a .857 SV. As for Jacob Fowler, he has never faced Alexander Ovechkin and co.
While Washington hasn’t confirmed its starting netminder, Charlie Lindgren was in the net for their last game on Sunday, meaning Thompson should be back in the net on Tuesday. The former has a 4-1-0 record against the Canadiens with a 2.83 GAA and a .889 SV, while the latter is 1-0-1 with a 3.04 GAA and a .889 SV.
Up front, Nick Suzuki is the Canadiens’ most productive forward against the Capitals with 20 points in just 16 games, followed by Brendan Gallagher and Mike Matheson, who have 15 points in 31 and 28 games, respectively. It’s also worth mentioning that Cole Caufield has 14 points in 12 games.
On the other side, Alexander Ovechkin has been the Canadiens’ chief tormentor over the years with 74 points in just 61 games. John Carlson comes in second place with 28 points in 45 games, and Tom Wilson wraps up the top three with 19 points in 29 games. The gritty player is, however, nursing a lower-body injury, and there’s been no confirmation that he’d be back in the lineup tonight.
Washington has won six of the last 10 duels between the two sides, and in three of those duels, the Caps have scored six or more goals. The game is set for 7:00 PM, and you can catch it on MNMT, TSN2, and RDS. Graham Skilliter and Frederick L'Ecuyer will referee the game, while Travis Gawryletz and Kyle Flemington will be the linesmen. After the game, the Habs will head to Buffalo for the second game of this three-game road trip.
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