Caps @ Canadiens 2-20-2007 Preview

Washington Capitals (23-36; 55 points; 5th Southeast Division, 14th Eastern Conference, 25th Overall) @ Montreal Canadiens (30-31; 66 points; 4th Northeast Division, 10th Eastern Conference, 18th Overall):
Caps Game #60, Road Game #30, NHL Game #898

Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 7:35 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WTNT 570-AM. Montreal TV: None. Radio: CJAD 800-AM. Canadian National TV: RDS (in French). NHL Center Ice: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic feed.

Tonight the Caps bring the road trip to an end and hope to bring their road woes to an end as well in Montreal where they will face the struggling Canadiens. The Habs broke a 6 game losing streak with a 3-2 win in Columbus on Saturday. The Habs, like the Caps, have also lost their starting goaltender to injury in a critical time in the schedule. However, while the Caps have slid completely out of playoff contention, the Canadiens are still hanging onto the race.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Caps.com. Caps.com .pdf game notes.

Open Source Intelligence:

Montreal Gazette: 4th liner, former goalie deserves better. Canadiens.com does not have a preview up yet.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

Simply put, the Caps can't get off the road soon enough. Their better efforts on the road have come up short recently and you can see that the Caps are playing with little to no confidence right now. If there was a team that the Caps could gain confidence against, it is Montreal. The Canadiens have been on a slide of their own and are trying to hold/gain ground on the playoff race with their backup goaltender. The Caps will need to jump out to an early lead tonight in order to have a chance and the larger the lead they build the better.

Caps Nut Official Washington Hockey.com Predict The Score Contest Entry:

Caps 3
Canadiens 2
Winner by Zubrus