Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals Prediction, NHL Odds
The Montreal Canadiens travel to Washington on Saturday night for a matchup against the Capitals. Montreal followed an upset win over the Leafs to open the season on Wednesday with a 3-0 loss in Detroit on Friday. The Caps have dropped their first two games of the season, losing at home to Boston on Wednesday and dropping a 3-2 decision in Toronto on Thursday.
Washington is a -288 favourite to win on the NHL odds, with a total of 6.5.
Canadiens vs. Capitals NHL Betting Odds
It was all Capitals in the season series last year as Washington swept all three games and outscored the Canadiens a combined 19-9. One positive Montreal can look at is the fact the road team has won five of the last six games between these teams.
The Habs are looking to turn around in a rough stretch that has seen them drop five of their last six decisions in Washington.
The Capitals have generally been successful in October, winning 12 of their last 18 games in the month.
These teams will meet again on New Year’s Eve in Washington before closing out the season series in Montreal on April 6.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal was put in a tough spot on Friday, playing on the road against a Detroit team that was playing their season opener. The Habs were outshot 40-29 and failed to find the back of the net. Jake Allen stopped 37 of 38 shots faced as the Red Wings actually scored two empty net goals. It was Allen’s second start of the year after he made 29 saves in Montreal’s season-opening win over Toronto. Sam Montembeault is expected to get his first start of the season on Saturday. In 38 games (30 starts) last season with Montreal, Montembeault compiled an 8-18-6 record with a 3.77 goals-against average and .891 save percentage.
The Canadiens have relied on four rookie defencemen, Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, Jonathan Kovacevic and Arber Xhekal, in each of their two games this season. Another rookie, 2022 first overall draft pick Juraj Slafkovsky, has been eased into the Montreal lineup. Slafkovsky played just 10:34 in the season opener, recording one shot and finishing with an even plus/minus. He played 9:37 on Friday, recording no shots and finishing minus-2.
Defenceman Mike Matheson, who has not played since a pre-season game on Oct. 6, will miss at least eight weeks while recovering from an abdominal muscle strain.
Washington Capitals
With an extra day of rest, the Caps will be gunning hard for a win after dropping their first two games of the season. They led 2-1 after the first period in Toronto on Thursday, but were outshot 39-26 in the game and eventually lost 3-2. Nic Dowd and Marcus Johansson scored for Washington. Backup goalie Charlie Lindgren stopped 36 of 39 shots. Alex Ovechkin is still looking for his first goal of the season, although he has managed seven shots on net in two games.
Off-season addition Darcy Kuemper will get the call between the pipes on Saturday. Kuemper, who backstopped the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup last season, made 25 saves on 29 shots in the season opening loss against Boston on Wednesday. Last year he finished the regular season fourth in wins (37) and shutouts (5) and fifth in save percentage (.921).
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