Game 59: Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Capitals region: MNMT
Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
The Montreal Canadiens came out of the Olympic break with another overtime game, their 20th of the opening 58 games of the season. Normally good in three-on-three this year, where they’ve claimed nine of their wins, they dropped a second consecutive decision in the extra period. They’re now 3-3 in overtime in 2026, as it has become a toss-up and not the almost automatic second point it was to begin the campaign.
Unable to hold a late lead, the lost point became a big one with other recent results. The Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins have won the game they’ve played since returning from the break, while the Buffalo Sabres have won two. Going into the Olympic pause in second place in the Atlantic Division, Montreal now sits in the first wild-card spot, two points up on the Boston Bruins, and just four points clear of the Washington Capitals.
It’s therefore an important game tonight with the Capitals in town. The gap could be down to just two if Montreal loses in regulation, but increasing it to six would be a large mountain to climb for Washington with just 20 games left on their schedule after tonight. The Habs haven’t beaten the Capitals yet this season, most recently suffering another OT defeat on January 13, but tonight is a critical time to do so.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Capitals |
|---|---|---|
| 32-17-9 | Record | 30-23-7 |
| 48.6% (24th) | Expected-goal share | 51.5% (12th) |
| 3.45 (4th) | Goals per game | 3.18 (16th) |
| 3.22 (24th) | Goals against per game | 2.88 (8th) |
| 24.7% (7th) | PP% | 16.3% (31st) |
| 76.6% (26th) | PK% | 79.2% (18th) |
| 0-1-1 | Head-to-Head Record | 0-2-0 |
| Cole Caufield (33) | Most goals | Tom Wilson (23) |
| Lane Hutson (49) | Most assists | John Carlson (36) |
| Nick Suzuki (65) | Most points | Tom Wilson (49) |
For whatever reason, the Canadiens have struggled to finish off Metropolitan Division opponents this year. They do have points in 10 of the 13 games they’ve played, but it’s just a 3-3-7 record. That’s seven losses when a game goes beyond regulation, of the nine total they’ve suffered this season. Montreal has been better versus its own, much tougher Atlantic, and is the only team to rack up 10 wins versus the Central Division that isn’t located in that section, so it’s an outlying performance versus the Metro.
It could be that these are generally older, more experienced teams that had to adapt more defensive play to shut down the likes of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Four of the top eight defences in the NHL call the Metro home, and the worst of them is the Columbus Blue Jackets in 21st. They are generally teams comfortable with staying patient and waiting for their opportunities, a solid strategy when the game moves to three-on-three.
The Capitals have been just an average offensive team this season, scoring 3.18 goals per contest. Tom Wilson leads them with 23, and Alexander Ovechkin has just 22 with three-quarters of his season played, only able to score four times on a power play that ranks 31st in the NHL. They have managed to score at least five goals 11 times this year (including a season-high eight the first time they met Montreal), but on 22 occasions have managed two or fewer, winning just three of those games.
At this stage of the season, however, they’ve been managing to hit the net a little bit more. They’ve scored three goals in nine of their last 11 games, going 7-3-1 in that time. It looks like it will take four goals to win tonight’s game, something that Montreal’s fourth-ranked offence should be able to accomplish. Perhaps Zachary Bolduc, who was made a healthy scratch on Thursday, will have felt the heat from the decision to put in a strong effort to get that fourth goal, while Jakub Dobeš will be the goaltender tasked with containing Washington to three or fewer.
