The Montreal Canadiens (10-6-3) are set to host the Washington Capitals (10-8-2), with the puck drop scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.
This will be the first time the two teams have met since facing each other in the first round of the 2024–25 playoffs, which resulted in a 4–1 series win for the Capitals.
It was Montreal’s first taste of playoff action since beginning their rebuild, and even though it resulted in a defeat, it was a good reminder that there’s still some work to be done before we can declare the Canadiens a contending team.
The Canadiens were also given a reality check in November, following a rather impressive start to the season. Despite producing reasonably encouraging underlying numbers, the wins have been hard to come by, leading to head coach Martin St-Louis mixing things up in his top six. He promoted Zachary Bolduc to the first line, while playing Juraj Slafkovsky alongside Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen.
The underlying numbers were far from elite, but as we all know, it takes time to build chemistry.
There were, however, some very encouraging numbers produced in the bottom six, a situation that was helped along by the inclusion of hard-working forward Jared Davidson to the mix.
Thanks to Davidson, and to a lesser extent Joshua Roy, the bottom-six has stabilized significantly, removing some of the pressure from Suzuki and Co. in the top six.
Starting Goaltender, Ovechkin Threat
Samuel Montembeault will start for the Canadiens, and will be looking for his first win since November 8, versus the Utah Mammoth. The 29-year-old has won four games this year, which has led to a 3.56 goals against average, as well as an .858 save percentage.
The Capitals have only won four of their last 10, but it’s never a good idea to take a team that features Alex Ovechkin lightly.
Ovechkin, 40, has scored seven goals and nine assists in 20 games this season, which is a very respectable production regardless of the circumstance, but even more so when we consider he’s one of the oldest skaters to play in the NHL.
Ovechkin also loves playing versus the Habs, as evidenced by his 39 goals and 31 assists in 60 career games.
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Zachary Bolduc
Juraj Slafkovsky – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
Joshua Roy – Jake Evans – Josh Anderson
Jared Davidson – Joe Veleno – Brendan Gallagher
Mike Matheson – Noah Dobson
Jayden Struble – Lane Hutson
Arber Xhekaj – Alexandre Carrier
Samuel Montembeault
Washington Capitals Projected Lineup
Alexandre Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Anthony Beauvillier
Aliaksei Protas – Justin Sourdif – Tom Wilson
Brandon Duhaime – Connor McMichael – Ryan Leonard
Sonny Milano – Hendrix Lapierre – Ethen Frank
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun – Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Charlie Lindgren
How To Watch The Habs Vs. The Capitals
The Montreal Canadiens versus the Washington Capitals, Thursday, November 20, 2025, will be aired on RDS and Amazon Prime. An instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Sportsnaut as soon as the final whistle blows.
