Canadiens vs. Capitals: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch
The Habs play their first game of a back-to-back set on the NHL’s opening weekend.
After spoiling the Buffalo Sabres’ home opener on Thursday night, the Montreal Canadiens will attempt to accomplish that feat again tonight, this time at the expense of the Washington Capitals.
The Canadiens opened their season with a shootout victory, with the top offensive players leading the charge. Claude Julien liked what he saw in the game, and will leave his lines intact for the second game of the season.
Being the first game of a weekend back-to-back set, it will be interesting to see how the head coach manages his players, and how evenly he’s able to distribute the ice time for a team with a rookie on both forward and defence.
Victor Mete has looked great from training camp through the first match of the new season, but will face a tough test from Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and co. should the Capitals decide to match up against the freshman blue-liner. Charles Hudon will hope to keep the deployment honest with a good showing at the opposite end of the ice.
The Capitals have a rookie of their own dressing tonight, as Australia’s Nathan Walker makes his first home appearance. He will become the first Australian to dress for an NHL game when he steps onto the Capital One Arena ice this evening.
Puck drop is at 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
How to watch
In Canada: City (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Capitals region: NBCSWA
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL GameCentre Live, NHL Centre Ice
Montréal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
---|---|---|
Max Pacioretty | Jonathan Drouin | Alex Galchenyuk |
Artturi Lehkonen | Tomas Plekanec | Ales Hemsky |
Paul Byron | Phillip Danault | Andrew Shaw |
Charles Hudon | Jacob de la Rose | Brendan Gallagher |
Defencemen
Left Defence | Right Defence |
---|---|
Victor Mete | Shea Weber |
Karl Alzner | Jeff Petry |
Joe Morrow | Jordie Benn |
Goaltenders
Goaltenders |
---|
Antti Niemi |
Charlie Lindgren |
Washington Capitals projected lineup
Forwards
Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
---|---|---|
Chris Kreider | Mika Zibanejad | Pavel Buchnevich |
Rick Nash | Filip Chytil | Mats Zuccarello |
Michael Grabner | Kevin Hayes | J.T. Miller |
Jimmy Vesey | David Desharnais | Paul Carey |
Defencemen
Left Defence | Right Defence |
---|---|
Ryan McDonagh | Kevin Shattenkirk |
Brady Skjei | Brendan Smith |
Marc Staal | Anthony DeAngelo |
Goaltenders
Goaltenders |
---|
Henrik Lundqvist |
Ondrej Pavelec |