Canadiens at Capitals
Max Pacioretty has the Montreal Canadiens' offense buzzing after a natural hat trick at home in their last outing. Pacioretty and the Canadiens will try to keep that momentum going when they visit the Washington Capitals on Friday. Washington saw its three-game winning streak end Wednesday in a 4-0 shutout loss at home to the Pittsburgh Penguins - the second time the Capitals have been blanked this season.
Washington captain Alex Ovechkin has 17 goals - including four in the last four games - and leads the league with 112 shots. Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is used to seeing a lot of shots, facing over 31 per start while posting a .935 save percentage and 2.05 goals-against average. The Capitals surrender 35 shots per game, making life difficult on goaltenders Braden Holtby and Michal Neuvirth.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RDS, TSN, CSN-D.C.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (11-9-2): Pacioretty’s three goals were his first since Oct. 12 after missing three weeks with a hamstring injury. Reigning Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban leads the team with 19 points, but has just three goals on a team-high 73 shots. Rene Bourque missed Tuesday’s game with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (12-9-1): Holtby has started Washington’s last five games, allowing at least three goals in four of those outings. Defenseman Mike Green is expected to return from a lower-body injury Friday after missing three contests. Martin Erat has one assist in nine games and has not scored this season, recording a total of nine points in 31 games since being acquired from Nashville at the trade deadline in 2012-13.
OVERTIME
1. Montreal is a league-best 10-for-33 on road power-play opportunities. Washington is 12-for-43 with the man advantage at home.
2. Ovechkin has 32 points in 30 career games against the Canadiens.
3. The Capitals are 9-1-1 in their last 11 meetings with Montreal.