ARLINGTON, Va. -- Aliaksei Protas is likely to return for the Washington Capitals when they try to advance past the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Capital One Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, ESPN, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS, CBC).
Protas, who has not played since April 4 because of a skate cut on his left foot, was a full participant during practice Tuesday and the 24-year-old top-line forward did not stay on the ice for extra work following an optional morning skate Wednesday.
“We’ll see tonight,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “We’ll talk to the medical staff. He had a good day yesterday and today full go, so we’ll see what they say, and we’ll see tonight.”
Protas was third on Washington with 30 goals and tied center Pierre-Luc Dubois for third with 66 points in 76 regular-season games.
“He's been steady for us all year,” Capitals forward Tom Wilson said. “He's been one of our MVPs. He makes everybody around him better when he's on the ice. If he's back in tonight, it's obviously a big boost. He’s a big-game type of player. He makes great plays with the puck. Smart player, big frame, moves well, so we'll be excited to have him back if he gets back out there."
Protas’ return could improve Washington's chances of closing out Montreal in what would be its first Stanley Cup Playoff series win since defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final to capture its first championship. The Capitals hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series following a 5-2 victory in Game 4 at Montreal on Sunday, and would advance to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round with one more win. Carolina defeated the New Jersey Devils in five games in its first-round series.
This is Washington's first opportunity to clinch a playoff series since a 4-3 double overtime Game 7 loss to Carolina in the 2019 first round. The Capitals expect the Canadiens, who battled until their final regular-season game to clinch the second wild card in the East, to make a strong push to extend their season and force a Game 6 at Montreal on Friday.
“I grew up watching [Canadiens coach] Marty St. Louis [play] and he's not going to let these guys go without a fight,” Washington goalie Logan Thompson said. “They have a lot of undersized guys but they work their [tails] off, so we know what to expect. They're going to come out real hard and we're going to have to match it. Probably the first 10 minutes will be the hardest 10 minutes of the game.”
The Canadiens have had an opportunity to win each of their three defeats in the series; they lost 3-2 in overtime in Game 1 and were within one before clinching empty-net goals in their 3-1 loss in Game 2 and 5-2 loss in Game 4.
“We have a lot of confidence going into the game knowing that we’re kind of battle-tested in this environment,” Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson said. “There’s been a lot of moments this year where people kind of counted us out and things weren’t looking great for us, so I think we’re confident in our ability to dig deep and show up.”
The Canadiens have six players remaining from their team that rallied from down 3-1 to upset the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the 2021 first round: forwards Brendan Gallagher, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Josh Anderson, Jake Evans and Joel Armia. That team went on to reach the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.
“You just try to stay relaxed, be excited,” Suzuki said. “It’s not over 'til it’s over. We’re a hungry team. We want to come out and show that we can win this game and go back home.”
Teams that lead 3-1 in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series have an all-time series record of 317-32 (.908), including a 208-17 (.924) mark when starting at home.
Here is a breakdown of Game 5:
Canadiens: Goalie Jakub Dobes will start again with Sam Montembeault missing his second straight game because of an undisclosed injury that led to his departure during the second period of Game 3. The 23-year-old rookie stopped 21 of 24 shots in his first NHL playoff start in Game 4. Defenseman Alexandre Carrier will be a game-time decision after sustaining an undisclosed injury on a hit from Wilson during the third period of Game 4. Forward Patrik Laine will miss his third straight game because of an upper-body injury. Montreal will try to stay hot on the power play after going 4-for-9 with the man-advantage the past two games.
Capitals: Forward Taylor Raddysh, who had one assist in the first four games, stayed on the ice for extra work after the morning skate, so it appears he will sit out to make room for Protas in the lineup. Washington has been the better team at getting to the front of the net during the series, as evidenced by its 33-18 advantage in high-danger shots on goal, according to NHL EDGE Advanced Statistics. Forwards Dylan Strome (seven points; two goals, five assists) and Anthony Beauvillier (five points; one goal, four assists) each has at least a point in each of the first four games. The Capitals will try to end a 0-for-9 drought on the power play since Alex Ovechkin scored on their first man-advantage opportunity of the series, in the first period of Game 1.
