Preview: Capitals at Canadiens

CAPITALS (25-9-5) at CANADIENS (25-9-6)
7:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SNE, RDS, CSN-DC, NHL.TV

Capitals team scope

Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie (upper body) is day to day and will not play despite taking part in an optional morning skate at Bell Centre. Forward Alex Ovechkin, four points from reaching 1,000 in his NHL career, needs one goal to tie Maurice Richard for 29th on the League's all-time list. Barry Trotz will coach his 1,400th NHL game, tying Pat Quinn for eighth all-time. A win will also tie Trotz with Quinn for seventh in all-time wins (684). "It didn't mean anything to me until a couple of people brought it up," Trotz said. "I had no idea. I've been in this a long time, it just means you've been at it a long time. But you start looking at some of the names you always used to look up to and all of a sudden you're there. You sometimes feel out of place because those are people you grew up watching a little bit and helped you along when you were just starting out. So it does feel a little awkward. It just means I'm getting a little older and been around a while." Goalie Braden Holtby was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week on Monday. Holtby had consecutive shutouts in his past two starts, including a 30-save effort in a 1-0 win at the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, and is on a 121:56 shutout streak. Washington has won five straight and is 6-2-2 in its past 10 games.

Canadiens team scope

Forward Paul Byron will play after missing the Montreal Canadiens' 5-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday because of an upper-body injury. "I feel great," Byron said after the morning skate at Montreal's suburban practice facility. "I had a real couple of good days here in Brossard, and it sucks to miss the game Saturday, but I feel a lot better." Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said others, such as forward Alex Galchenyuk (knee) and defenseman Andrei Markov (groin), are close to returning. "I know they're going to meet our doctors [Monday] night, but the rest are not going to play [Monday]," Therrien said. The Canadiens are 3-0-0 in 2017 and earned 10 of a possible 14 points during a seven-game road trip (4-1-2) despite their injuries. "The team's playing great, and it seems like every time a guy goes down, another guy is ready to step up," Byron said. "I think last year, it was obviously pretty disappointing with what happened, but it was also a lesson learned for a lot of us. We can't just sit here in the room and wait for one guy to come back and make everything better. It's a team effort and everyone's got to step up and bring something to the group."

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Brett Connolly
Marcus Johansson -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Justin Williams
Paul Carey -- Lars Eller -- Andre Burakovsky
Daniel Winnik -- Jay Beagle -- Tom Wilson
Karl Alzner -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik -- Nate Schmidt
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched:Liam O'Brien, Taylor Chorney
Injured:T.J. Oshie (upper body)

Canadiens projected lineup

Max Pacioretty -- Phillip Danault -- Alexander Radulov
Artturi Lehkonen -- Tomas Plekanec -- Sven Andrighetto
Paul Byron -- Torrey Mitchell -- Brian Flynn
Bobby Farnham -- Michael McCarron -- Nikita Scherbak
Alexei Emelin -- Shea Weber
Nathan Beaulieu -- Jeff Petry
Mark Barberio -- Ryan Johnston
Scratched:Zach Redmond, Daniel Carr, Chris Terry
Injured:Brendan Gallagher (hand), David Desharnais (knee), Alex Galchenyuk (knee), Andrew Shaw (concussion), Andrei Markov (groin), Greg Pateryn (ankle)

Status report

Wilson will return after he was injured blocking a shot Saturday. "Obviously it was pretty painful but the trainers got me ready to go," Wilson said. "And getting in the skate, it felt OK and ready to go." Trotz said either Carey, who was recalled from Hershey of the American Hockey League on Monday, or O'Brien will enter the lineup for Oshie. ... Markov practiced with the Canadiens in Toronto, but he could not say whether or not he will be able to make the two-game trip that begins at the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. "The purpose for that trip was to practice with the team," Markov said. "We have a lot of games and we don't have much time for practice, so we'll see what can happen [Tuesday]." Shaw skated with the Canadiens for the first time since he was sidelined by a concussion.

Who's hot

Kuznetsov has a goal and five assists in his past three games. Williams has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past seven games. ... Radulov has four goals and four assists during a six-game point streak. Pacioretty has seven points (five goals, two assists) in his past six games. Weber has one goal and five assists during a four-game point streak. Beaulieu has one goal and four assists during a three-game point streak. Danault has three assists in two games.