Feb. 17 vs. Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Stream: MonSports.net/Stream
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
Washington Capitals (23-21-8)
Montreal Canadiens (22-24-8)
Ten days ago in the District, the Caps and the Montreal Canadiens tangled in the first game for each club following the All-Star break. The Habs prevailed 5-2 in that game, and both teams have had their ups and downs since. The Caps and Habs will meet for the third and final time this season on Saturday night in Montreal, with Washington seeking to avoid a sweep of the season’s series.
The Capitals’ first road trip of the 2023-24 season took them to Ottawa and Montreal in mid-October. The Caps were drubbed 6-1 in Ottawa, but they staged a late rally to force overtime in Montreal on that Oct. 21 contest, only to fall 3-2 on a Cole Caufield goal early in overtime.
As they prepare to go head-to-head with the Habs for the final time this season, the Caps are again in dire need of a win – any kind of win – and they also need to start stacking them up swiftly. Washington has played five games now since returning from the break, going 1-3-1, all while looking much better than they did in the four games preceding the break (0-3-1). But a 1-6-2 stretch doesn’t move the needle for a team still harboring faint playoff hopes. Down to just 30 games remaining on the season – and with nine of those coming between now and the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline, the Caps are rapidly running out of runway with which to achieve a meaningful turnaround.
“It’s really tough,” sighs Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “Because we are doing a lot of good things, but obviously losing a lot of hockey games, and that’s tough. It’s tough on the coaches, but especially on our players because they’re trying to draw on some positives and try to stay in the moment here, and try to drum up some positives from all the hard work that’s being put in. And when you’re not getting results and you’re controlling play a good amount against some really good teams, and constantly at the end of the game they’re like, ‘All for nothing.’
“But I feel like guys are in pretty good spirits. They understand the teams that we just played against in that stretch, and I think they’re pretty good evaluators of when our game is in a good spot, and the result may not follow. You could have said that earlier in the year; there were some games that we won that if you went back through the film, or you looked at the analytics, you’re like, ‘Whoo, we got bailed out by Chucky [Lindgren] or [Darcy Kuemper] had a big night, or our special teams had three [goals] and theirs had one,’ whatever the case.
“So it’s a stretch where we’re not being necessarily rewarded for the things that we’re doing. But we’ve got to understand that longevity, and if we do that consistently, I believe – and I know the guys know it – you’ll win games, if you do the right things and you play the right way, and you’re ending up on the positive side of a lot of situations.”
One positive situation is the return of winger Sonny Milano to the lineup following an absence of 27 games – essentially a third of the season – with an upper body injury. Milano has been skating and practicing with the team for a while now – he was on the last road trip to Florida and Boston last week – and he has been cleared to return.
Milano is likely to be in the Washington lineup on Saturday in Montreal, skating on a line with ex-Canadien Max Pacioretty and Mike Sgarbossa.
“Speed, skill,” begins Carbery when asked what a healthy Milano brings to the mix. “Ability to help us out offensively and make a few plays, whether that’s individually or part of a line. And he was playing at a high level; he has had some good stretches this year. You’ve got to be patient, and he’s missed a lot of time, so you can’t expect him to come in and all of a sudden just return to midseason form. It’s probably going to take him a little bit, but it’s good to have him back in the mix.”
Including its Feb. 6 win over the Caps in Washington, Montreal is 2-3-0 since coming back from its break. The Habs blanked Anaheim by a 5-0 count in Quebec on Feb. 13, but they wrapped a pair of ugly losses around that victory. The Canadiens absorbed a 7-2 home ice thumping at the hands of the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 11, and most recently, they dropped a 7-4 decision to the Rangers in New York on Thursday night.
