The Washington Capitals made their way to Canada on Wednesday in advance of their tilt with the Canadiens tonight in Montreal. The team held their gameday morning skate at 11:30 this morning at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

MORNING SKATE

T.J. Oshie (upper body) and Trevor van Riemsdyk (upper body) did not make the trip to Montreal. The Capitals announced on Saturday that van Riemsdyk would miss at least a week. Today’s forward lines and defensive pairs, courtesy of Roman Stubbs/Washington Post:

Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano — Nicklas Backstrom — Aliaksei Protas
Conor Sheary — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Craig Smith
Anthony Mantha — Nic Dowd — Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Martin Fehervary — John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin — Nick Jensen
Alexander Alexeyev — Matt Irwin

Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren
Mitchell Gibson

Darcy Kuemper will start tonight, per Laviolette.

THE GREAT 8

Alex Ovechkin scored three goals in the Dec. 31 meeting, which marked his 30th career hat trick and his third versus Montreal. Ovechkin’s three career hat tricks against the Canadiens are tied for the most he has recorded against a single opponent (Florida: 3; Ottawa: 3).

In 54 career games versus Montreal, Ovechkin has recorded 63 points (37g, 26a). Ovechkin’s 37 goals and 63 points against the Canadiens are the most among active players. [MORE HERE]

STAT OF THE DAY – SHOTS FIRED !

Today’s stat of the day revisits the Capitals shot production and shot suppression (shots for and against). The following graph plots the Capitals rolling season average for their shots per game differential (SF/GM-avg minus SA/GM-avg). [Click to enlarge]

The Capitals best shot differential for the season occurred on January 26, when they were +1.90. It’s an interesting time to plateau, considering John Carlson had been out for a month already.

The average has been on decline since the all-star break and now sits at +0.80.

DOWN ON THE FARM

Alexander Suzdalev scored his first goal of the postseason Tuesday night in Regina. The Pats fell in overtime again on Wednesday so their first round series with Saskatoon is tied 2-2.

Suz Your Daddy! Alexander Suzdalev for his first postseason tally. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/ixguemg64c

— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) April 5, 2023

Dru Krebs recorded his first goal of the postseason on Wednesday night. Unfortunately Krebs and the Medicine Hats Tigers lost 3-2 and have been eliminated from the WHL postseason.

But just like that, the @tigershockey answer back with a snipe off the stick of Dru Krebs!@Capitals | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/dmQjIYNoke

— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 6, 2023

Ryan Chesley and the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Chase Clark and the Quinnipiac Bobcats continue their quest for an NCAA title tonight in the semifinals of the Frozen Four in Tampa.

SHAVINGS

• Coyotes file $2.3B claim against city of Phoenix over arena [ESPN]
• Carson Briere removed from Mercyhurst hockey team after off-ice incident [TSN]
• Bruins, Penguins, continue to dominate NHL ratings [Sports Media Watch]

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