Capitals seek to pad lead vs. Canadiens (Mar 24, 2018)
The Washington Capitals will try and build on their lead atop the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division when they play the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday night.
The Capitals (43-24-7) lead the Pittsburgh Penguins by three points in the battle for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division and hold a game in hand. The Penguins lost 4-3 in overtime against the New Jersey Devils on Friday.
Washington is playing the second game in a three-game road trip that started with a 1-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
"When you go on a road trip, (winning) the first one is always good," Capitals coach Barry Trotz told Washingtoncapitals.com. "It brings life to your room and there is something to be said about that energy you have when you feel good about yourself.
"You get that first one, and let's head into Montreal and let's play. They're going to play really hard, they've still got lots of good pieces and they've got Carey Price back in net. We're going to have to go in there and get two points. I don't think we'll have too much to not be excited about; it's always a special place to go."
The Canadiens (27-36-12) will be playing the second of back-to-back games and are coming off a 3-0 win against the Sabres in Buffalo on Friday, ending a four-game losing streak. Antti Niemi made 35 saves for his first shutout of the season and his first with Montreal.
Price returned to the lineup on Wednesday in a 5-3 loss to the Penguins, his first game since sustaining a concussion Feb. 20. He is expected to start for the Canadiens, who were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.
Philipp Grubauer is expected to make his second straight start for the Capitals after Braden Holtby sustained a lower-body injury in the Caps' 4-3 win against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. Grubauer made 39 saves against the Red Wings.
Washington captain Alex Ovechkin leads the NHL with 44 goals, one more than Patrick Laine of the Winnipeg Jets.
The Capitals will have a new face with them in Montreal on Saturday after they signed forward Shane Gersich to a two-year entry-level contract Friday. The 21-year-old left the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks after his junior year. He was Washington's fifth-round pick (No. 134) in the 2014 NHL draft.
The Capitals assigned forward Travis Boyd to Hershey of the American Hockey League to make room for Gersich.
The Canadiens have eight injured players including top defenseman Shea Weber, who is out for the season after having surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left foot, and captain Max Pacioretty, out with a knee injury.
Forward Arthur Lehkonen had his fifth goal in the past eight games against the Sabres.
"You always want to make progress, but now the bounces are going my way, so that's a good thing," Lehkonen, who has 10 goals on the season, told Montrealcanadiens.com.
Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron continued to be two bright spots in what has been a miserable season for the Canadiens. Gallagher scored his 27th goal of the season, building on a career-best season in goals. He has 46 points, one away from tying his career best in 2014-15.
Byron scored his 18th goal and is showing his career-best 22-goal campaign after being picked up on waivers last season is no fluke.
