Dec. 7 vs. Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: 106.7 THE FAN, Caps Radio 24/7
Washington Capitals (18-6-2)
Montreal Canadiens (10-13-3)
Fresh from forging a new franchise record with their eighth consecutive road victory on Friday night in Toronto, the Caps finish up a set of back-to-back games on Saturday night when they make their lone visit of the season to Montreal to take on the Canadiens.
With seven goals in the first four games of Washington’s current road winning streak, Caps’ captain Alex Ovechkin fueled the front half of the streak. But he suffered a fractured fibula on Nov. 18 in Utah, and the team has capably filled the back half of the streak without him.
“For us, we want to play to the standard that Ovi would expect,” says Washington winger Tom Wilson. “He is our captain, so when he is out, everybody knows that they have to step up. Everybody knows that they have to bring a little bit more to fill that void a little bit.”
They all brought it on Friday in Toronto, taking down a Maple Leafs team that carried a 12-3-0 home record into the game. Since the beginning of November, no NHL team had allowed fewer goals per game than the Leafs (2.14).
“I'm really proud of that – or, for our guys, I’m proud of that – because playing on the road is where you show to me your true identity,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “And now we’ve got to clean some things up at home, but on the road is where you’ve got to go into hostile environments – i.e. Toronto – and play against a really good hockey team that's playing really well. And you’ve got to just stick to your game, and you just have to grind your way through and stay mentally tough.
“To have that record now, I’m proud of the way the guys have played on the road thus far this year.”
Friday’s win in Toronto lifts the Caps overall road record to 10-2-0 on the season.
To make the victory even sweeter, one of the Caps’ many players from the greater Toronto area supplied what would prove to be the game-winning goal midway through the third period. With the tight checking contest deadlocked at 1-1 for the better part of an entire period, Caps’ forward Connor McMichael beat Toronto goaltender Anthony Stolarz, shelving a shot from just above the paint midway through the third.
McMichael’s goal was his 15th of the season, tying him with Ovechkin for the team lead.
“He has taken off this year,” says Caps’ goalie Charlie Lindgren of McMichael. “I think it starts with an unbelievable work ethic. You can see he wants to be truly one of the best players on the ice every single night. He's a terrific skater, a super high IQ hockey player, and just a really good team guy. He'll do whatever it takes to help the team, and I love to see him get rewarded. He's a really good kid and has a really, really bright future.”
Lindgren made 20 saves to record his eighth victory of the season, and his fifth of the eight games in the record road streak.
Friday’s victory was the Caps’ first in Toronto in more than four years, since Oct. 29, 2019. It was Washington’s first win in regulation on The Big Smoke in just over seven years, since Nov. 25, 2017.
“It’s a tough building to come into,” says Wilson. “They’re playing really well at home; they’ve got a lot of danger up front, so we knew we had to play a good road game. And I think for the full 60 minutes, we didn’t give them much. Obviously, they come in waves, but we did enough to shut them down and be opportunistic at the other end.”
The Caps faced Montreal once previously this season, downing the Habs by a 6-3 count on Halloween night in Washington. Facing the team that gave him his NHL start, Lindgren needed to make only a dozen saves on a night in which Washington outshot Montreal by 34-15. Six different players found the back of the net for the Capitals that night.
The Capitals are 4-1-0 on the second half of back-to-backs thus far this season.
Although Montreal finds itself in the basement of the Atlantic Division, the Canadiens are always tough in their own building, where they are a respectable 7-5-2 in 2024-25.
Most recently, the Habs blanked the Nashville Predators here on Thursday night, prevailing 3-0. For the Canadiens, Saturday’s game against the Capitals is the middle match of a season-high five-game homestand. The Habs are perfect on the homestand thus far; they eked out a 2-1 overtime victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday in the opener. Anaheim and Pittsburgh are the next two teams into town after Saturday’s tilt with Washington.
