Capitals vs. Canadiens: Lines, Tale of the Tape, Key Stats

After being eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday, the Washington Capitals will take the ice for one of their final games of the season against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Here's everything to know before puck drop.

The Capitals will be shorthanded and have just 17 skaters available. Anthony Mantha will sit out with a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, T.J. Oshie and Trevor van Riemsdyk remain out with upper-body injuries.

Here are how the lines stack up:

Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson

Sonny Milano-Nicklas Backstrom-Aliaksei Protas

Conor Sheary-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Craig Smith

Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Martin Fehervary-John Carlson

Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen

Matt Irwin-Alex Alexeyev

Darcy Kuemper will get the start, per head coach Peter Laviolette. Charlie Lindgren, who missed Sunday's game with a non-COVID illness, will back up.

The last time these teams met was on New Year's Eve when Alex Ovechkin's hat trick helped power D.C. to a 9-2 victory. Since then, things have taken a turn for Washington, but the fact remains the same: Washington has good numbers against Montreal, especially with regard to the captain.

Ovechkin has recorded three hat tricks in 54 career games against the Canadiens, the most he has had against any team. His 37 goals and 63 points against Montreal lead all active players.

Not only that, but Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson have averaged .70 points per game against the Canadiens in their careers.

Here are more key stats for both teams:

Washington: 3.09 goals per game (24th), 3.10 goals-against per game (17th), 21.4 power-play percentage (15th), 82.6 penalty-kill percentage (6th)

Montreal: 2.74 goals per game (26th), 3.68 goals-against per game (28th), 16.9 power-play percentage (28th), 72.9 penalty-kill percentage (30th)

Puck drop is at 7 p.m. ET at Bell Centre.