Capitals at Canadiens
THE STORY: The Washington Capitals have experienced pronounced troubles away from the Verizon Center. Washington dropped its fourth straight and 17th in 25 road contests (8-14-3) this season when it fell to Florida on Wednesday. The setback pushed the Capitals behind the Panthers in the Southeast Division. "It’s frustrating. This game could have been a catapult to shoot us off the second half," Washington center Brooks Laich said. "We’re back chasing again. Lack of success on the road is not acceptable. ... I'm sick and tired of losing on the road." The Capitals will look to stop the bleeding on Saturday afternoon when they pay a visit to the Montreal Canadiens, who have their own difficulties winning in front of their home fans. Montreal is just 9-10-7 at the Bell Centre this season - with one of the losses coming in a 3-0 decision to Washington on Jan. 18.
TV: 2 p.m. ET, CBC, RDS
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (26-20-4): Washington's power play has been downright abysmal lately. The Capitals have converted on just one of their last 21 opportunities with the man advantage. Just as ugly was the 88-foot goal allowed by Michal Neuvirth on Wednesday. With that in mind, Tomas Vokoun is expected to start on Saturday afternoon. The veteran hasn't fared well versus the Canadiens, posting a 5-9-3 career mark with one tie.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (19-23-9): Montreal entered the All-Star break with some promise. After all, the Canadiens won their last two games prior to the intermission and ignited a faint hope that perhaps a run was possible. Well, two losses have followed - with the latter one coming after Montreal failed to hold a two-goal advantage and fell 5-3 to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
OVERTIME:
1. Captain Alex Ovechkin has finished serving his three-game suspension and is eligible to return on Saturday. He scored in the Capitals' last meeting with the Canadiens and has 27 points in 24 career games against Montreal.
2. A website has been created to "celebrate" Scott Gomez's year of futility. The site - celebrations-gomez.com - features a countdown clock, a candle in the shape of a 1 and a picture of Gomez, who has not scored since Feb. 5, 2011. Gomez is making $7.3 million a year.