Canadiens vs. Capitals: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch

After a shutout win by Antti Niemi in Buffalo on Friday night, the Canadiens return home to the confines of the Bell Centre for a showdown with the always dangerous Washington Capitals.

As always the Capitals offence is highly potent, with the ageless goal scoring machine Alex Ovechkin leading the charge once again. His 44 goals have him in the lead for a hotly contested Rocket Richard trophy once again, and Montreal’s weary defence will be tasked with trying to keep him contained.

While doing that, the Habs most also contend with the dynamic abilities of Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Carlson, and Nicklas Backstrom, all of whom have over 55 points this year. Beyond that there’s always old friend Lars Eller, who is closing in on a 20-goal year, and former Sochi hero T.J. Oshie to worry about as well.

This game will likely be a major test for Carey Price, who faced a fairly hefty workload against the Penguins earlier this week.

For Montreal, if they want to keep this game close at all they’re going to need to stay out of the penalty box, as any power play featuring Ovechkin on it makes it a top-level threat every single time it’s on the ice. Either way, watching one of the NHL’s best goalies and perhaps the best natural goal-scorer of all time compete is a treat to watch, especially when it’s Saturday night hockey.

Puck drop is at 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT

How to Watch

In Canada: Sportsnet, Sportsnet Now (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the United States: NHL Network
In the Capitals region: NBC Sports-Washington
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL GameCentre Live, NHL Center Ice

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Washington Capitals projected lineup