Capitals (16-13-7) vs. Canadiens (21-9-5) Keys to the Game

Okay and welcome back from Christmas holiday.

#1: First Period Lead is Crucial

The Capitals have only a .091 winning percentage when trailing after the first period and a .083 win percentage when trailing after 2. By contrast, Montreal has a .727 winning percentage when leading after 1 period. It's lucky then that the Caps are third in the league in 1st period goals (40) and Montreal is only 14th in goals allowed in the first (31)

#2: Beat Huet

Goaltender Cristobal Huet has been nothing short of spectacular of late and particularly against Washington. This season he's 14-4-3 with two shutouts and has a GAA of 2.36. In his career against Washington he's 3-1-0 with a 2.23 GAA. All this has translated into a winning record for the Habs and a team which allows the second fewest goals (97) behind only New Jersey (89). Luckily they're only 14th in goals scored with 108 while Washington is 9th with 113.

#3: Special Forces Needed

Washington isn't bad when it comes to the special teams aspect of hockey. They're ranked 14th in power play percent (17.4) and 19th in penalty kill (81.7). The problem is that Montreal is ranked #1 and #2 in power play percentage and penalty kill percentage, respectively. Montreal kills a devastating 88.3% of their penalties (they're ranked 15th in times shorthanded with 197) and is a stunning 23.5% effective on the power play.

Players to Watch...

Montreal: Christobal Huet

For all the reasons stated above, Christobal Huet is the most dangerous person in a Canadiens uniform tonight and is the one player who can put Washington on the road to a 2 game losing streak. It also doesn't hurt that he leads the league in save percentage (93.1%) and is one of only 15 goaltenders with multiple shutouts.

Washington: Alex Ovechkin

One night after surviving the boo-birds in Buffalo (he responded in kind with a goal) he looks to build another goal scoring streak (he's already got goals in 2 straight games). Ovechkin is the league's leading goal scorer with 25 goals and is currently on pace for a whopping 57 goals and 109 points.