Montreal Canadiens (10-5-3, second in the Atlantic Division) vs. Washington Capitals (14-2-4, first in the Metropolitan Division)
Washington; Friday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Montreal Canadiens visit Washington after the Capitals defeated Philadelphia 2-1 in a shootout.
The Capitals are 7-0-1 in Eastern Conference games. Washington has scored 77 goals and leads the NHL averaging 3.8 goals per game. Alex Ovechkin leads the team with 13.
The Canadiens are 3-2-1 against opponents from the Atlantic Division. Montreal has scored 62 goals and ranks seventh in the NHL averaging 3.4 goals per game. Brendan Gallagher leads the team with eight.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting this season between the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Ovechkin leads the Capitals with 13 goals, adding 10 assists and totalling 23 points. Jakub Vrana has six goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Washington.
Gallagher leads the Canadiens with eight goals and has 14 points. Shea Weber has four goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Montreal.
LAST 10 GAMES: Canadiens: 6-3-1, averaging 3.2 goals, 4.5 assists, three penalties and 6.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game with a .912 save percentage.
Capitals: 8-0-2, averaging 4.1 goals, 6.4 assists, 4.2 penalties and 8.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .915 save percentage.
Capitals Injuries: Richard Panik: out (upper body), Carl Hagelin: day to day (upper body).
Canadiens Injuries: None listed.
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.