Welcome back, friends. After a 10-day span between games, the Washington Capitals are back to take on the Montreal Canadiens.
This is another important game for the Caps’ future this season. Washington sits seventh in the Metropolitan Division, seven points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They have the toughest strength of schedule remaining in the NHL so this is a victory they must nab.
To do so, the Capitals will have to do so without Evgeny Kuznetsov, who entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program on Monday. Mike Sgarbossa, one of the Hershey Bears’ top players, will replace him in the lineup moving into the future.
Tonight marks the 1,000th regular-season home game for the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena.
The game is on Monumental Sports Network. Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin have the call.
Capitals lines
Alex Alexeyev, Matthew Phillips, and Ethan Bear are the scratches.
Lineys!#CapsHabs | @JackDaniels_US pic.twitter.com/Q4rEipweTW
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 6, 2024
Tunnel weirdness
1st Period
Charlie Lindgren will oppose Samuel Montembeault in net. Ovechkin-Strome-Wilson and Edmundson-Jensen get the start.
🚨 1-0 Habs. Nick Suzuki scores easily on an odd-man break after Nicolas Aube-Kubel turns the puck over as the Capitals try to exit the zone. Suzuki’s 14th comes 6:42 into the first period.
🚨 2-0 Habs. Nick Suzuki scores again 57 seconds later after Arber Xhekaj’s shot ricochets off the crossbar and right to the Habs forward. Xhekaj was wide open at the point after Alex Ovechkin was interfered with off the defensive zone faceoff. Suzuki now has 6 tallies in 11 career games against Washington.
Juraj Slafkovsky to the box for hooking Martin Fehervary at the 8:02 mark.
Ten minutes in, the Canadiens are outshooting the Capitals 7 to 2. Yikes.
🚨 3-0 Habs. Michael Pezzetta scores easily from the slot as TVR wipes out retrieving the puck along the boards. His goal comes at the 13:07 mark.
Charlie Lindgren is being pulled for Darcy Kuemper. Lindgren made 6 stops on 9 shots. Not nice!
The Canadiens outshot the Capitals 13 to 5 and out-attempted them 17 to 11 at five-on-five. Expected goals are 0.98 to 0.09 at five-on-five. That was one of the worst periods of the season by the Capitals.
2nd Period
Puck is dropped.
Tanner Pearson hooks TJ Oshie as he skates hard to the net. Caps go to their second power play of the game 47 seconds in. After getting impeded, Oshie fell over and scored his body into the Canadiens’ net. NO GOAL.
Off a faceoff, Ovechkin’s slap shot from behind the right circle hits the left post and goes right into Montembeault’s right pad. Puck frozen. Loud ping.
Connor McMichael to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct right as the Capitals power play ends at 2:51.
🚨 3-1 Habs. Alex Ovechkin scores his 832nd career goal after a nifty feed by Dylan Strome. Ovi’s 10th of the season comes at the 6:03 mark of the period.
Alex Ovechkin scores 832nd career goal, hitting double digit tallies for 19th straight season
Tanner Pearson high-sticks John Carlson at 10:32. That would have been a huge goal.
With a wide open net yawning, David Savard blocks a Max Pacioretty shot with the back of his leg.
Caps now 0 for 3 on the night on the night and 0 for 8 on the season on the season against the Canadiens.
Capitals have life in this game! They outshot the Canadiens 16 to 4 in the period. Overall, the Capitals now hold the advantage in shots 21 to 17. They are out-attempting the Habs 39 to 21 at five-on-five after dominating them 28 to 4 in that period. Can’t say I saw that coming.
“We just played more physical and got pucks back and got more shots on net,” Strome said at intermission to Monumental Sports Network. “Do that again and good things will happen. We’ll be talking about it and I have a good feeling about it.”
3rd Period
Puck is dropped.
TJ Oshie nearly scores at the doorstep after another big rebound from Montembeault.
🚨 4-1 Habs. Juraj Slafkovsky uses Martin Fehervary as a screen and fires it past Darcy Kuemper far side. That’s a first overall pick goal. It’s Slafkovsky’s eighth of the season. This game is pretty much over now.
🚨 4-2 Habs. Rasmus Sandin scores on a one-timer after a nice feed into the wheelhouse by John Carlson. Caps need to score two to tie with 8:19 remaining.
John Carlson hits the post on the very next shift.
Anthony Mantha elbows Johnathan Kovacevic in the head and he’s to the box. Very bad timing and discipline. He knows it. He’s slamming his stick in the penalty box.
🚨 5-2 Habs. Juraj Slafkovsky beats Kuemper with a one-timer from the right circle, 33 seconds into the power play.
Five straight losses for the Caps.
Capitals outshoot the Canadiens 38 to 26 and out-attempt them 60 to 34 at five-on-five. Their terrible first period sunk them.
Read the RMNB recap:
Montreal makes the Capitals wish they were back on a beach: Canadiens beat Capitals 5-2
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