Washington @ Montreal preview
Bell Centre
Last Meeting ( Oct 31, 2024 ) Montreal 3, Washington 6
The Washington Capitals will go for a sweep of their quick trip across the border when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
The Capitals beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 on Friday while the Canadiens will be looking for their first three-game winning streak of the season following a 3-0 victory against visiting Nashville on Thursday.
Connor McMichael scored the go-ahead goal at 9:51 of the third period, and the Capitals extended their point streak to six games (5-0-1) with their win in Toronto. Washington bounced back from a subpar effort in a 2-1 overtime home loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
The Capitals only have lost as many as two straight games one time this season and are 6-1-0 following a loss.
Nic Dowd scored his third goal in four games, Aliaksei Protas added an empty-net goal and Charlie Lindgren made 20 saves for the Capitals.
McMichael scored his fourth game-winning goal of the season. He leads Washington in game-winning goals and even-strength goals (12), and is tied with superstar captain Alex Ovechkin for the team lead in goals (15).
"I thought we did a really good job tonight of just keeping it simple," McMichael said. It was a great road win for us. We were pushing, we had chances, and sometimes that's just hockey, the way it goes. You get a lucky bounce and you just have to capitalize on it."
The Capitals are 10-2-0 away from home and extended their road winning streak to eight games dating back to Nov. 9 -- the longest in franchise history.
"I'm really proud of that for our guys," Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. "Playing on the road, to me, is where you show your true identity, and now we have to clean some things up at home."
Patrik Laine has played in two games for the Canadiens this season and has scored a power-play goal in both. He tallied during a 5-on-3 man-advantage at 1:14 of the third period on Thursday.
Laine scored a power-play goal in his season and Montreal debut on Tuesday, his first game back after suffering a knee injury in a preseason game on Sept. 28.
"It feels good," said Laine, who was acquired in a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Aug. 19. "It felt a little bit better than last game, and obviously the power play, it's always been fun to play that. So that's been working out well so far and just try to keep it going."
Sam Montembeault made 29 saves, Jake Evans had a goal and an assist, and Joel Armia scored for Montreal. Rookie defenseman Lane Hutson extended his assist streak to five games.
Montembeault, who was named to Team Canada for the upcoming 4 Nations Faceoff, is tied for the league lead with three shutouts.
"He's kept us in the game so many times, just unbelievable, and that's why they picked him for Team Canada, for that reason," Laine said. "He shows up in big moments. 5-on-3 against, when you look at the guys they have and nothing goes in, he's been unreal."
Montreal played without defenseman Kaiden Guhle, who ranks third on the team in ice time.
Washington beat visiting Montreal 6-3 on Halloween night, getting a goal and two assists from Ovechkin. He remains out with a fractured fibula but has resumed skating on his own.
--Field Level Media