GAME DAY | Capitals – Canadiens: Preview, Prediction, Lines, Goalies, TV

Antti Niemi got his first shutout of the season as the Habs went on to sweep the season series against Buffalo. The Da La Rose line continued its strong play and the Sabres struggled to score helping out the Habs penalty killing woes.

For a complete recap: Season Sweep for Habs

Players to watch

• Lars Eller
  With the Habs weakness at center, Montreal could have used Eller, a skilled player with size. Eller has become a depth center for the Caps and is a big part of their strength down the middle.
• John Carlson
  A UFA after this season, Carlson is the Caps leader on the blue-line and is certainly going to get a pay raise this off-season.
• Carey Price
  After a very strong against the Pens, Price gets another hard matchup against the Caps. Keeping the topline in check will be a challenge for the entire Canadiens team.

Keys to Victory

• Continue penalty-kill momentum
  The Canadiens were good against a dismal Sabres power-play. It will be a much taller order against the Capitals who can be lethal with the man advantage.
• Defend the paint
  The Habs need to keep everyone out of their goal crease and not be nice about it.  Alzner has done this reasonably well for most of the season.
• Have a strong start
  The Caps love to score, and score in bunches especially when they get the first one. Habs need to contain that by having a quick start and not allowing back-to-back goals.

After playing last night the Habs need to come out fast and not let up. The Capitals lean on their star players and constantly attack waiting for a team ease up or make a mistake. Keeping Ovechkin in check is obvious, but the battle between Jacob De La Rose and Lars Eller is one to keep an eye on.