Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals Game 2 Prediction, Odds
The young Canadiens were outclassed heavily in the first period of Game 1 by the Caps, but rallied in the third period, scoring twice in the last 10 minutes of regulation to force the game to overtime.
Alex Ovechkin picked up where he left off in the regular season, with two goals, including the winner, plus an assist.
The Capitals are the -200 favourite to win Game 2, according to the NHL odds, with the game total opening at 5.5 goals. Capital One Arena will be rocking on Wednesday, with the puck dropping at 7:00 PM ET.
Habs vs. Capitals NHL Playoff Betting Odds
With a 1-0 series lead, the Capitals have moved to a +555 favourite to win the series, with the Canadiens line moving to +400. It may be hard to look past the first versus eighth seed ranking, but if Game 1 proved anything, it was that you can never count this Canadiens team out. A 4-1 series win for the Caps is paying out +240, with the longshot 4-1 Canadiens paying out +2200.
Alex Ovechkin has moved up on a few of our NHL Futures boards with two goals in the series opener. He is now the -170 favourite to lead the series in goals, and has sprung up to fourth for the Conn Smythe Trophy as a +2000 for the playoff MVP.
The Habs were one of the best teams versus the spread this season, covering in 47 regular-season games. They did it again in Game 1, pushing 76 percent of early bettors to put their money on them to cover again on Wednesday. Sam Montembeault has a Goalie Specials line, featuring an OVER/UNDER on saves in every game this series. He stopped 29 shots in Game 1 and has made 18 or more saves in each of his last 20 games. Making 20+ saves in each contest pays +140 and looks like a lock early on.
Montreal Canadiens
To say Game 1 got off to a rough start would be downplaying what the Canadiens were dealing with in the opening 20 minutes. They were shaky, to say the least, as the Caps opened with a relentless forecheck, getting on the Habs’ young d-core early. At about the halfway mark, Montreal was given a power play, which allowed them to take a breath and get their feet under them.
Sam Montembeault showed he will be a big factor in this series, holding off the Caps’ early onslaught, turning away the first 13 shots of the game, and helping the Habs get over the Game 1 jitters.
The Canadiens had the most third-period comebacks in the league this season, so being down 2-0 entering the third did not make the youngsters uncomfortable. Cole Caufield broke the shutout on a power-play marker at the midway point of the period, before captain Nick Suzuki would tie things up with just over five minutes to play. As expected, Lane Hutson was effective in his playoff debut, setting up both of the Canadiens’ goals and playing over 25 minutes.
Washington Capitals
The Caps are the bigger, more experienced team, and they flexed those muscles right off puck drop in Game 1. Washington tested the Habs early with three shots in the first two minutes and were outshooting Montreal 9-4 by the 10-minute mark.
The Caps got a late power play to break the ice, and who else but the Great 8 to get the scoring started. Ovechkin scored his 73rd career playoff goal to give his team the 1-0 lead with just 1:26 left in the first. Ovi teamed up with Anthony Beauvillier for the Caps’ second goal late in the second to take the 2-0 lead into the third. The final period was a different story though, as they struggled to keep up with the Canadiens’ speed. Montreal doubled Washington’s shot total in the third 14-7.
When it got to overtime, the Caps wasted no time on the forecheck, forcing the Canadiens to ice the puck. On the ensuing faceoff, Alexander the Great would bat a puck out of the air past the goalie, winning the game for his team.
Goalie Logan Thompson was questionable for Game 1, but showed no signs of injury, stopping 33 shots in the game.
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