Montreal faces Washington on 5-game losing streak
Montreal Canadiens (27-27-8, sixth in the Atlantic Division) vs. Washington Capitals (37-17-5, second in the Metropolitan Division)
Washington; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Montreal aims to break its five-game skid with a win over Washington.
The Capitals are 23-12-1 in conference matchups. Washington ranks fourth in the league averaging 3.5 goals per game, led by Alex Ovechkin with 40.
The Canadiens are 8-11-2 against opponents from the Atlantic Division. Montreal has surrendered 39 power-play goals, stopping 79.1% of opponent opportunities.
In their last matchup on Jan. 27, Washington won 4-2. Tom Wilson recorded a team-high 2 points for the Capitals.
TOP PERFORMERS: John Carlson leads the Capitals with 70 points, scoring 15 goals and adding 55 assists. T.J. Oshie has totaled six goals and four assists over the last 10 games for Washington.
Tomas Tatar leads the Canadiens with 54 points, scoring 21 goals and adding 33 assists. Nicholas Suzuki has totaled four goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Montreal.
LAST 10 GAMES: Canadiens: 4-5-1, averaging 2.6 goals, 4.4 assists, four penalties and 8.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game with a .906 save percentage.
Capitals: 4-6-0, averaging 3.1 goals, five assists, four penalties and 8.6 penalty minutes while giving up 3.5 goals per game with a .883 save percentage.
INJURIES: Capitals: Evgeny Kuznetsov: day to day (upper-body).
Canadiens: Brendan Gallagher: day to day (lower body), Victor Mete: day to day (lower-body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.