Montreal @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 27, 2020 ) Washington 4, Montreal 2

The Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin have hit a rocky patch, a rut that dropped the team out of first place in the Metropolitan Division and stalled the superstar captain's bid to add another milestone to his resume. Losers of four of their last five, the Capitals will look to avoid matching a season-high slide when they host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

Ovechkin has been held off the scoresheet in each game during Washington's 1-4-0 swoon and remains two goals shy of becoming the eighth player in history to score 700. “If it happens, it happens,” said Ovechkin, who has lit up Montreal for 32 goals in 49 meetings. “It’s just a matter of time. Tomorrow, if not tomorrow, whenever.” Sitting one point behind Pittsburgh in the division, the Capitals bolstered their lineup for the stretch run by acquiring defenseman Brenden Dillon from San Jose on Tuesday, while the Canadiens opted to part ways with blue-liner Marco Scandella, shipping him to St. Louis for a pair of draft picks. Montreal tumbled to its fifth consecutive defeat (0-4-1) on Tuesday, blowing a two-goal lead in the third period in a 4-3 loss to league-worst Detroit to drop 10 points out of the second wild card.

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

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (27-27-8): Captain Shea Weber rejoined the lineup weeks earlier than expected and Paul Byron (knee) played his first game since mid-November, but the third-period collapse overshadowed their returns. “We’re 10, 11 points out of the playoffs and we’ve played more games than everyone else and the difference between ourselves and everyone else is games like the one tonight,” Byron said. "We have to find a way to win those games." The Canadiens scored twice on the power play Tuesday following a 3-for-30 stretch.

ABOUT THE CAPITALS (37-17-5): Before dropping two of three on the road, Washington coughed up 12 goals in back-to-back home losses, adding urgency to solidify the defense with the Dillon deal. “He checked a lot of boxes for everything we thought we needed,” general manager Brian MacLellan said. “I think one of the things that’s been frustrating for me is the play in front of our own net, the compete level in front of our own net, and this is something he brings to the table here." Dillon will be paired with either John Carlson or Dmitry Orlov.

OVERTIME

1. Ovechkin scored 14 goals in seven games before the current dry spell.

2. Canadians F Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist Tuesday to extend his point streak to four games.

3. Carlson needs one point to tie Calle Johansson for the most points (474) by a defenseman in franchise history.

PREDICTION: Capitals 4, Canadiens 2