Game 20: 21-9-7-3 (PTS-W-L-OT)
Monday November 19, 2018 Washington Capitals @ Montreal Canadiens
Place: Bell Center
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSWA, TSN2, RDS
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
NHL.COM for Live Box Score
Last Game: Fri November 16 Capitals Won 3-2 against Avalanche
Next Game: Wed November 21, 7:00pm ET Capitals @ Blackhawks
 8-Ovechkin | 19-Bäckström | 43-Wilson |
| 13-Vrana | 20-Eller | 10-Connolly |
| 65-Burakovsky | 72-Boyd | 25-Smith-Pelly |
| 23-Jaskin | 26-Dowd | 18-Stephenson |
| 9-Orlov | 74-Carlson |
| 6-Kempny | 2-Niskanen |
| 29-Djoos | 22-Bowey |
| 1-Copley (starter) |
| 70-Holtby |
-- SCRATCH -- | 92-Kuznetsov (upper body injury, day-to-day) |
| 77-Oshie (upper body injury, day-to-day) |
| |
-- INJURED RESERVE -- | 44-Orpik (lower-body injury, Technically able to return next game) |
| |
-- 1st Powerplay Unit -- | 77-Oshie | 19-Bäckström | 18-Stephenson |
-- 2nd Powerplay Unit -- | 13-Vrana | 10-Connolly | 20-Wilson |
Referees: Jake Brenk (#26), Marc Joannette (#25)
Linesmen: Kory Nagy (#97), Michel Cormier (#76)
1st Period09:20 Habs GOAL Reilly, assist Peca 1-0 MTL
13:16 GOAL 10-Connolly, assist 74-Carlson 1-1 TIE
14:40 GOAL 8-Ovechkin, assists 43-Wilson & 9-Orlov 2-1 WSH
2nd Period00:20 Habs GOAL Gallagher, assists Danault & Petry 2-2 TIE
01:08 Habs PP GOAL Petry, assist Kotkaniemi & Domi 3-2 MTL
01:35 Habs GOAL Agostino, assists Lehkonen & Kotkaniemi 4-2 MTL
13:20 GOAL 19-Bäckström, assist 29-Djoos 4-3 MTL
3rd Period01:02 PP GOAL 8-Ovechkin, assists 74-Carlson & 43-Wilson 4-4 TIE
OT03:34 GOAL 20-Eller, assists 13-Vrana & 6-Kempny 5-4 WSH
FINAL: 5-4 WSH
By Isabelle Khurshudyan November 19 at 12:50 PM
Pheonix Copley gets nod against Canadiens, Braden Holtby expected to start Wednesday
Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby is expected to return to the starting role Wednesday. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
MONTREAL — The Washington Capitals will have goaltender Braden Holtby back on Monday night at the Bell Centre, but he won’t be in net. Pheonix Copley will get his fourth straight start as Holtby works his way back from an undisclosed “upper-body” injury that sidelined him for two games. Copley is 4-2-1 this season with a .908 save percentage and a 2.65 goals-against average.
“A few days off from practice and just getting him back into his routine,” Coach Todd Reirden said of Holtby. “We’ve got a busy week coming up this week when we get back home, and we’re going to leaning on him heavily in that situation. I think this gives him the best chance for success, which is what we’re always looking for for our players, in particular our No. 1 goalie. The right thing to do is to get him the work with [goaltending coach] Scott Murray and a normal game day skate with some extra shots and get him ready for Wednesday.”
[Lars Eller stepping into more responsibility again with Capitals hit by injuries][Lars Eller stepping into more responsibility again with Capitals hit by injuries]
While Holtby is expected to play against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, center Evgeny Kuznetsov and right wing T.J. Oshie almost certainly won’t. Since they both took hits to the head against the Winnipeg Jets last week, they haven’t been on the ice, and Reirden wouldn’t elaborate much on their status outside of saying that they’re “day to day.” The Capitals have a day off on Tuesday, so Kuznetsov and Oshie won’t have the opportunity to practice with the team before the game against the Blackhawks, making it highly unlikely they’d play.
“The real way I’ll be able to evaluate is when they get on the ice,” Reirden said. “Up until then, it’s kind of — they’re day to day.”
Oshie, who has had four reported concussions in his career, is second on the team in goals with nine, and Kuznetsov has six goals with 15 assists. Center Lars Eller will again skate in Kuznetsov’s place on the top line with captain Alex Ovechkin and right wing Tom Wilson. The Capitals beat the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2, on Friday without Kuznetsov and Oshie by recommitting to the strong defensive play that got the team a Stanley Cup in June. Colorado, the top offensive team in the league at the time, was kept to two goals and 26 shots.
“We lost key guys and different guys stepping up big time,” Ovechkin said. “We have more minutes to play, and I think we took a big step to where we were last year.”
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