Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals
How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2, TSN Direct (English), RDS, RDS Direct (French)
In the Capitals region: NBC Sports Washington
Streaming: NHL.tv/NHL Live
After nine days of rest, the Canadiens get back on the Bell Centre ice tonight versus one of the NHL’s top teams. Alex Ovechkin has excused himself from the game, serving a one-game suspension for skipping the All-Star festivities. That helps to even the playing field somewhat, with both sides leaving top-line wingers on the sidelines.
Brendan Gallagher and Jonathan Drouin are back at practice, with returns to action imminent, but they will miss tonight’s game.
The Canadiens had been doing decently well without some top players before heading off to mid-season vacations during the bye week. They won for the fourth time in five games by beating the Vegas Golden Knights on January 18. It may be a bit rough to start with so much time off, but they’ll be looking to add to that run of good form with a win on home ice.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Tomas Tatar |
Phillip Danault |
Ilya Kovalchuk |
| Max Domi |
Nick Suzuki |
Joel Armia |
| Ryan Poehling |
Jesperi Kotkaniemi |
Artturi Lehkonen |
| Nick Cousins |
Nate Thompson |
Dale Weise |
Defencemen
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Ben Chiarot |
Shea Weber |
| Brett Kulak |
Jeff Petry |
| Victor Mete |
Cale Fleury |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
| Carey Price |
| Charlie Lindgren |
Injured: Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin, Brendan Gallagher, Marco Scandella
Scratched: Jordan Weal
Washington Capitals projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Richard Panik |
Nicklas Backstrom |
Tom Wilson |
| Jakub Vrana |
Evgeny Kuznetsov |
T.J. Oshie |
| Carl Hagelin |
Lars Eller |
Travis Boyd |
| Brendan Leipsic |
Nic Dowd |
Garnet Hathaway |
Defencemen
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Michal Kempny |
John Carlson |
| Dmitri Orlov |
Nick Jensen |
| Jonas Siegenthaler |
Radko Gudas |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
| Braden Holtby |
| Ilya Samsonov |
