Uneven Caps aim for stability as Habs try to keep rolling
Inconsistency continues to plague the Washington Capitals.
Meanwhile, wins are coming at a steady pace for the Montreal Canadiens.
Looking to rebound from their latest defeat, the host Capitals will try to keep the Canadiens from earning a fifth win in six games Tuesday night.
Washington is 6-8-4 since a six-game winning streak Nov. 24-Dec. 3. The Capitals have not won back-to-back contests since that undefeated run. They allowed three consecutive goals after Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring Sunday during a 3-2 road loss to the Nashville Predators.
The Capitals have alternated losses and wins for the past five games.
"It's kind of been the same story the last 15-20 games, not consistent enough getting wins and finding ways to lose," said Washington forward Dylan Strome, who has no goals and one assist in the past four contests.
Injuries have also hindered the Capitals lately. Leading scorer Tom Wilson is nearing a return from his lower-body injury, defenseman Jakob Chychrun has dealt with a recent illness, and promising forward Justin Sourdif exited Sunday after taking a puck to the face.
"Everyone's thin, and we can't make excuses," Strome said. "We've got to find to find a way to bounce back and string a couple (wins) together here.
"I feel like we're doing a lot of good things and they're not resulting in wins. Got to find a way to get the wins on the board. That's what matters this time of year."
Ovechkin, meanwhile, continues to play at a high level. He reached the 20-goal mark for the 21st consecutive season after netting five during his current four-game goal streak.
Owner of an NHL-record 917 career goals, Ovechkin netted three of those tallies, and added an assist, during Washington's 8-4 win at Montreal on Nov. 20. He has totaled 42 goals and 32 assists in 61 games against the Canadiens.
In the mix for first place in the Atlantic Division, Montreal has won nine of its past 13 (9-2-2). Alexandre Carrier scored twice, Juraj Slafkovsky had a goal and two assists and Ivan Demidov added three helpers as the Canadiens recorded a 6-3 home victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday.
Montreal broke open a tie game by scoring three unanswered goals in the first 6:05 of the third period, two of them in the frame's first 67 seconds.
Despite falling 4-0 to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, Montreal has 27 goals while going 5-2-0 this month.
"We want victories," Carrier told Prime. "We knew we needed those two points (Monday) for the standings."
Slafkovsky has eight goals and 10 assists in the past 12 games. However, he was blanked vs. Washington in November.
After Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes made 20 saves on Monday, Jacob Fowler (2.46 goals-against average) or Sam Montembeault (3.39 GAA) could be in the Canadiens' net on Tuesday. Fowler has lost three of his past four starts, while Montembeault has allowed seven goals during a three-start winning streak.
Montembeault was pulled after yielding three goals on the 10 shots he faced against the Capitals in November. Dobes yielded four goals in relief.
Washington's Logan Thompson (2.35 GAA), who will suit up for Canada at next month's Winter Olympics in Italy, made 23 saves in a 5-1 win at Chicago on Friday that snapped a personal four-start losing streak.
Teammate Charlie Lindgren stopped 18 of 21 shots at Nashville on Sunday, and made 24 saves to earn the win at Montreal in November.