Photo: @Capitals
The Washington Capitals held a morning skate at Bell Centre prior to their game against the Montreal Canadiens at 7:30 PM tonight. The game will be televised on NBC Sports Washington. Here is all of the news leading up to the game:
The Capitals kept the same lineup from their practice on Wednesday. Defenseman Madison Bowey will play in Brooks Orpik‘s spot next to Christian Djoos on Thursday night. Orpik is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Capitals head coach Todd Reirden told reporters after practice that Orpik could skate tomorrow.
Reirden said Orpik isn’t on the ice today, but there’s a possibility he practices tomorrow. He’s considered “day-to-day” with a lower-body injury.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) November 1, 2018
Capitals Lines at Canadiens
Expected Caps lineup vs. Habs:
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Vrana
Burakovsky-Backstrom-Oshie
Stephenson-Eller-Connolly
Jaskin-Dowd-DSPOrlov-Niskanen
Kempny-Carlson
Djoos-BoweyHoltby starts.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) November 1, 2018
Shavings
-Center Nicklas Backstrom will skate in his 826th career game tonight, passing Michal Pivonka for sixth place on the Capitals’ franchise games played list
-The Capitals are 8-0-1 in their previous nine games at Bell Centre
-Captain Alex Ovechkin has recorded 27 goals and 49 points in 45 career games against the Canadiens
-Goalie Braden Holtby is 11-1-2 with a save percentage of .944, a goals-against average of 1.57, and two shutouts in his career against Montreal
-The Capitals play the last game of a four-game Canadian road trip in Montreal on Thursday; the team is 2-1-0 and has scored nine goals during that stretch
-Defenseman John Carlson‘s 26:00 of average ice time per game ranks third in the NHL; his 14 points (goals) in the month of October set a franchise record for most points in the month of October by a defenseman (Larry Murphy: 12 points, 1986-87); he recorded his five multi-point games within the first eight games of the season, and he became the 10th different defenseman in NHL history to do so, and the first since Jeff Brown in the 1993-1994 season, per NHL Stats.
-Ovechkin is two power-play goals shy of passing Marcel Dionne (234) for eighth place on the NHL power-play goals list
-The Capitals are one of three teams that have four players (Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Carlson, Ovechkin, and Backstrom) with at least four multi-point games (Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins) this season. Kuznetsov, Carlson and Ovechkin each have five multi-point efforts this season, while Backstrom has four. Carlson is one of only two defensemen in the NHL with at least five multi-point efforts this season (Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks).
-Forward T.J. Oshie has scored four of the Capitals nine goals this season in the third period, which leads the team, and his five points recorded in the final 10 minutes and overtime also leads the team
Capitals Today
CAPS TODAY: Nicklas Backstrom will play in his 826th career game tonight, passing Michal Pivonka (825) for sixth place on the Capitals’ franchise games played list. More info on https://t.co/HecIC0ECg1 pic.twitter.com/43gFKqAx8d
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) November 1, 2018
Game Notes
GAME NOTES: The Capitals visit the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow for the first time this season. Tomorrow’s morning skate prior to the game will take place at 11 a.m. at Bell Centre. https://t.co/MD7LizMqg0 pic.twitter.com/kQ1JMbwtMS
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 31, 2018
By Harrison Brown
