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

Montreal Canadiens @ Washington Capitals

How to watch

Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: Sportsnet East/Ontario/One (English)
In the Canadiens region: RDS (French)
In the Capitals region: NBC Sports Washington+
Streaming: ESPN+, NHL Live, RDS Direct, Sportsnet Now

It was assumed that Jake Allen was feeling fine and ready to return when it was announced a few days ago that Cayden Primeau had returned to the AHL, and that has turned out to be the case as Allen will start tonight’s game in Washington. He’ll get plenty of help getting back up to game speed, because the Capitals have one of the strongest offences in the league.

They are, of course, led by Alexander Ovechkin, and on a roster with few household names, his supporting cast is very familiar as well. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tom Wilson, and John Carlson round out their top four scorers, with the pack trailing in the distance. Even so, the lesser lights are making their contributions, helping to team reach 3.37 goals per game.

Montreal might be making life on that front more difficult. Dominique Ducharme has decided to reinsert Cédric Paquette in the fourth-line centre role, and that has relegated strong cyclerJoel Armia and Ryan Poehling (who scored twice in the last game) to a battle for the right-wing role on the final trio. No matter which decision is made, leaving one of them out to get Paquette back in doesn’t look like the best choice. It will be up to Paquette to prove that his reined in his discipline issues and can make a positive impact in the game.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Washington Capitals projected lineup