Washington @ Montreal preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 15, 2019 ) Montreal 5, Washington 2

Captain Alex Ovechkin won’t have a chance to record a third straight hat trick Monday night, but the NHL-best Washington Capitals hope to extend their winning streak to four games when they visit the Montreal Canadiens. Ovechkin, who registered eight of his 34 goals in his past three outings, will serve a one-game suspension after skipping the All-Star Game weekend to rest.

The Capitals have won six of their last eight games and hold a one-point lead on Boston for the top spot in the league after rallying with five goals in the third period to knock off the Metropolitan Division rival New York Islanders on Jan. 18. “We have a really strong group here,” Washington left wing Jakub Vrana told reporters after the latest win. “We believe in each other and as you guys know, even if we are down three goals, we kept pushing and lots of people maybe think the game was over, but. … we stick with our game.” Montreal, which won at Washington 5-2 on Nov. 15, had four victories in five games before the break to sit 10 points out of playoff position and needs a long streak to get back in striking distance with six of the next eight contests at home. “There’s a price to pay for a break,” Canadiens coach Claude Julien told the Montreal Gazette. “Part of it was lots of games crammed together. But I think the guys are going to benefit from the rest. For the most part, what we’ve seen in the past is that guys come back fresh and they’re able to give it a push. So there’s some positive in there.”

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS Washington, RDS, TSN2

ABOUT THE CAPITALS (33-11-5): Ovechkin’s 34 goals are 12 more than anyone else on the team, but Norris Trophy candidate John Carlson leads the way with 60 points after collecting six assists in the past four contests. Vrana is second behind Ovechkin with 22 goals - two shy of his career best in 2018-19 - and has scored seven times with two assists in the last eight games while center Nicklas Backstrom boasts 11 of his 38 points in his past 11 outings. Braden Holtby made the All-Star Game with 18 wins, but has struggled of late with rookie Ilya Samonsov (15-2-1) boasting a .951 save percentage in his past seven contests.

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (22-21-7): Montreal is still awaiting the return of injured forwards Jonathan Drouin (wrist), Brendan Gallagher (concussion) and Paul Bryon (knee), but has gotten a boost from veteran free agent Ilya Kovalchuk (eight points, eight games). Left wing Tomas Tatar, who had four points in the earlier meeting with the Capitals this season, leads the team with 43 and boasts a goal to go along with seven assists in his past eight outings. Goalie Carey Price (20-16-4, .908 SP) also raised his level of play during the team’s surge before the break with four consecutive victories, in which he allowed six goals combined.

OVERTIME

1. Montreal captain Shea Weber, who had three points in the All-Star Game tournament, managed two assists in 11 games before the break.

2. Washington C Evgeny Kuznetsov is third on the team with 42 points, but was held off the scoresheet in the last four games.

3. The Capitals are 20-1-3 when scoring first while the Canadiens are 16-7-4 in the same situation.

PREDICTION: Canadiens 3, Capitals 2