Montreal Canadiens Vs Washington Capitals
Arena: Verizon Center
Time: Thu, April 15, 2010 at 7:00 PM ET
League: NHL – United States of America
Last 10 matches: Montreal 3-4-3; Washington 6-1-3.
Washington and Montreal split the season series, each taking five of eight points. Montreal beat the Caps in regulation on Nov. 20 and again in that wild OT game on Feb. 10. That was the last time these two played in the regular season. Washington beat Montreal in a shootout on Nov. 28 and in regulation on Jan. 5.Montreal defenseman Paul Mara (left shoulder surgery) is expected to miss the rest of the season, while Glen Metropolit is out with a separated left shoulder/torn muscle. Washington’s only injury is Milan Jurcina, who is still recovering from a hernia operation.
The gap in offense in this series could be wide. Washington led the NHL with 3.82 goals per game while Montreal was 26th at 2.56 goals per game. In 5-on-5 play, the Caps had a League-best 213 goals while the Habs had a League-worst 132 goals. However, their power plays are similarly good. Washington was first at 25.2 percent and Montreal was second at 21.8 percent, but the Caps had 52 more advantages than the Canadiens.
Caps right wing Alexander Semin had points in 11 of the final 13 regular season games totaling 9 goals and 7 assists. Center Nicklas Backstrom had 9 points in three games before getting shut out in the season finale against Boston. Montreal right wing Brian Gionta had a goal in each of the final three games and center Scott Gomez had three assists over the last two games. Defenseman Andrei Markov had a goal and two assists in the season finale against Toronto. Goal’s highlights, results and more will be on site, as soon as posible.. don’t miss it.