Canadiens vs Capitals Series Preview, Schedule & Prediction
By Chris Amberley in NHL Hockey
Published:
- The Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals will meet in the 1st Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs
- Washington was 2-0-1 versus Montreal during the regular season
- See the Canadiens vs Capitals Series Preview and Schedule below, along with my Prediction
The Montreal Canadiens made their fans sweat, but ultimately grabbed the East’s last playoff berth in their final game of the regular season. Their reward: a date with Alex Ovechkin and the top-seeded Washington Capitals. Ovy and the Caps appear to have the advantage in nearly every significant category, but that doesn’t mean this series is headed for a sweep.
Canadiens vs Capitals Series Preview
Montreal is a gritty bunch. How else do you explain their mid-season turnaround. On December 1st, the Habs were 8-13-3, second last in the NHL standings. Since then, they’ve compiled 32-18-8 record, shocking the hockey world.
Yes, they blew three chances to secure a postseason spot before ultimately locking it down, but don’t expect Washington to walk all over them.
The Canadiens have a ton of offensive firepower, led by Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Both reached the 30-goal plateau this season, with Caufield sniping a career-best 37. Brendan Gallagher and Patrick Laine each potted 20+, and the offense just got a whole lot more intriguing with the addition of Ivan Demidov.
The Russian rookie burst onto the scene this week with a two-point debut igniting the Bell Centre faithful. He’s a 19-year-old prodigy with elite traits, and led his KHL team in scoring before his release.
On the backend, Calder Trophy odds favorite Lane Hutson anchors the blueline, and is one of the most exciting players in the NHL. The rest of the defense is a bit of a mixed bag, and arguably the weak link of the squad.
Sam Montembeault is fresh off a career-best 31 wins, 4 shutouts and 2.82 GAA, and statistically stacks up comparably to Caps number one netminder Logan Thompson.
Canadiens vs Capitals Advanced Stats
As for Washington, this team is loaded with firepower. Of course, there’s Ovechkin, now the greatest goal scorer of all-time, but this team also features six additional 20+ goal scorers. Dylan Strome is finally living up to his potential with a career-high 81 points, while he, Tom Wilson, Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael all set career-bests in goals.
The Caps boast the best shooting percentage in the league, while Ovechkin’s efficiency has been remarkable. He’s playing less minutes than ever, but still managed to set a career-best shooting percentage by 3%.
Defensively, they rank middle of the pack, but tend to get the majority of their W’s through offense and elite goaltending. Thompson provides the ladder service, but he’s currently dealing with an upper body injury. He hasn’t played since April 2nd, but is skating with the team. If he isn’t ready for the start of the series, Charlie Lindgren will step in. Lindgren was 20-14-3 this season, but posted a save percentage below .900, and a worse GAA than Thompson (2.73 vs 2.49).
Canadiens vs Capitals Schedule
As of Thursday afternoon, we only know the first four games of the schedule for this series. Washington, a top-five Stanley Cup odds contender, will have home ice, with Game 1 starting Monday in the Nation’s Capital.
Canadiens vs Capitals Schedule – Games 1-4
Game 2 is Wednesday, with the series shifting to Montreal for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday. ESPN will broadcast the first two games, while Turner Sports will cover Games 3 and 4.
The Capitals were 26-9-6 on home ice this season, and 25-12-3 as visitors. That was the most away wins in the East, and the second most in the NHL.
Montreal meanwhile, is 23-12-6 at the Bell Centre, and 17-19-5 away from home. The Habs clipped the Caps 3-2 at home in their final regular season meeting, after dropping two games in Washington earlier in the campaign.
Canadiens vs Capitals Prediction
Those away results for Montreal against the Capitals came when the Canadiens were playing their worst hockey of the season. They were one of the better teams in the East from December 1st on, and have just enough talent and grit to give Washington a legit fight.
If you’re making the case for the Habs to be competitive in the series, it’s all about efficiency. The Capitals had the best 5-on-5 shooting percentage in the league at 10.7 percent. Nevertheless, they only outscored their opposition at regular strength by .21 goals per night.
Penalties and power-play opportunities are less frequent in the playoffs, and if Washington’s offensive efficiency diminishes even slightly, this series could go the distance. I’m not ready to predict a Habs upset in the NHL playoff bracket, but i will gladly bet they steal at least two games from the Caps.
- Canadiens vs Capitals Series Pick: Over 5.5 Games (-160 at FanDuel)
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Sports Writer
As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
