Saturday picks: Caps to extend lead over Habs
Welcome to the NHL Daily Picks where hockey writers Adam Gretz and Chris Peters make their selections for all of the day’s games.
Washington Capitals vs. Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m. ET
Just a little more than a month ago on Nov. 18 the Washington Capitals were in second place in the Metropolitan Division and five points behind the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
A lot can change in a month.
All the Capitals have done since is go 14-2-1 in the 17 games that have followed and not only climbed to the top of the conference, but have also opened up an eight-point lead over every other team in the East. It’s been the perfect combination of the Capitals going on a roll at the exact same time both the Rangers and Canadiens hit a cold streak and started to slump.
The Capitals have a chance to extend that lead on Saturday night coming out of the NHL’s holiday break when they host a Canadiens team that can not seem to buy a goal or a win.
At this point, Washington and Montreal are two teams going in completely different directions. While the Capitals are just skating all over every team they meet at the moment, winning six games in a row, the Canadiens have lost five games in a row and 10 out of their past 12. The absence of starting goaltender and reigning league MVP Carey Price has certainly played a role in their struggles as backup Mike Condon has started to regress back to reality after an unbelievable start to his career, but that’s not the biggest problem.
It remains an offense that has scored just 19 goals in 12 games.
It’s left Condon and Dustin Tokarski, the two goaltenders currently in the lineup, with no margin for error and they simply do not have the ability to steal games the way Price can when the offense disappears. The Canadiens had to know they were never likely to keep scoring the way they were over the first month-and-a-half, but they probably weren’t expecting to follow that up with a 12-game stretch where they scored more than two goals just once.
It’s to the point now where they could very easily be out of the top-three in the Atlantic Division by the end of the weekend. That didn’t seem like it was possibility when they started the season 19-4-3.
And now, after a three-game road trip heading into the holiday break the Canadiens have to come out of it with another five-game road trip that starts with one of the best teams in the NHL. Pick: Washington Capitals 5, Montreal Canadiens 2
The rest of Saturday’s picks
Boston Bruins 4, Buffalo Sabres 3
Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 1
New Jersey Devils 4, Carolina Hurricanes 2
Dallas Stars 3, St. Louis Blues 2
Detroit Red Wings 2, Nashville Predators 1
Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Minnesota Wild 2
Los Angeles Kings 5, Arizona Coyotes 1
Edmonton Oilers 4, Vancouver Canucks 3
The Washington Capitals will keep winning against the Montreal Canadiens. (USATSI)
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