Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/23/2025

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Venue:  Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +164, Capitals -198; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +165, Capitals -200; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +165, Capitals -200; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Montreal Canadiens:  40-31-11 (5th place, Atlantic Division)

Washington Capitals:  51-22-9 (1st place, Metropolitan Division)

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Montreal Canadiens:  6-1-3 last 10

Washington Capitals:  5-5-0 last 10

The Canadiens are entering the playoffs with 91 points, a 40-31-11 record overall, and they were 17-19-5 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Washington Capitals in their last game, losing that one on the road 3-2 in overtime. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Lane Hutson led the team in assists with 2 while Nick Suzuki led the team in shots on net in that game with 7. Sam Montembeault was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 32 shots with 29 saves and a .906 save percentage. Their offense has scored 245 goals this season averaging 3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 265 goals against them allowing 3.2 goals per game.

The Capitals are entering the playoffs with 111 points, a 51-22-9 record overall, and they were 26-9-6 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Montreal Canadiens in their last game, winning that one at home 3-2 in OT. Alexander Ovechkin led the team in goals scored with 2 while Anthony Beauvillier scored 1 goal for them in that one. Dylan Strome led the team in assists with 3 while Anthony Beauvillier led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Logan Thompson was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 35 shots with 33 saves and a .943 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 288 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 232 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Capitals listed as a big favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 2 of a 7 game series between the 1st seeded Capitals from the Metropolitan Division and the 2nd Wild Card seeded Canadiens from the Atlantic Division for the 1st round of the NHL playoffs. The Capitals are leading this series 1-0 after game 1. The Capitals took a 1-0 series lead after beating the Canadiens 3-2 in overtime and the game wasn't the prettiest for them, but they got the job done. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the first 2 periods and let that go in the 3rd when the Canadiens tied it 2-2, but the Capitals ended the game pretty early in overtime and that could have been the scare they needed to get going in this series. The Capitals weren't at their best to end the regular season since they had already clinched the number 1 seed in the East and Ovechkin also broke the goal scoring record with a few games to go so focus was really low in that last week, but that tight game was the kick they needed to get back into a rhythm and they will be a lot sharper in this one. The Canadiens were also really hot to end the regular season as they came out of nowhere in the final weeks and grabbed the last Wild Card spot, but when they needed to win games most and clinch their spot, they weren't able to do so as the pressure was getting to them. They fought hard to come back against the Capitals in game 1, but that game was more a lapse in focus for the Capitals, and they will be ready to go with a stronger start in this one. The Capitals also had a great home record this season while the Canadiens struggled a lot on the road with a losing road record. The best way to place a bet here is on the Capitals to win this game and on the puckline. 

Canadiens Capitals Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Wednesday, April 23, 2025 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Capitals 4 Canadiens 1.

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Montreal Canadiens: 28-35 (+7.9 units) on the moneyline as a road underdog of +100 to +200. 21-33 (+10.3 units) on the moneyline when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%). 79-108 (+7.8 units) on the moneyline against poor power play killing teams - opp score on over 17.5% of chances. 31-22 UNDER when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%).

Washington Capitals: 40-24 (-6.4 units) on the moneyline as a home favorite. 62-48 (-9.9 units) on the moneyline when playing against a team with a losing record. 88-107 (-28.1 units) on the moneyline against excellent power play teams- scoring on over 17.5% of their chances. 20-13 UNDER at home when playing against a marginal losing team (Win Pct. 40% to 49%). 

Montreal Canadiens:  K. Dach (C) Out For Season - Lower Body.

Washington Capitals:  M. Fehervary (D) Out For Season - Meniscus. A. Protas (C) Day To Day - Foot. S. Milano (LW) Out - Upper-body. N. Backstrom (C) Out For Season - Hip. T. Oshie (RW) Out For Season - Back.

“We spent more time in the O-zone and we get better as the game went on. I feel like in terms of what we tried to do out there tonight, I felt it was a pretty good first game. There was a lot of good stuff. Unfortunately, you don’t win, but we got some really good stuff from this game.” - Martin St Louis after his team’s loss against the Capitals in game 1 of this series on Monday.

“I thought that first period was one of the best first periods we've played in probably a month, maybe two months. I thought it was just picture-perfect from exactly what we wanted to do to start the series, to start the game. Home ice, physicality, puck management, good productive shifts, attacking the net.” - Spencer Carbery after his team’s win against the Canadiens in game 1 of this series on Monday.

LW Cole Caufield

C Nick Suzuki

RW Juraj Slafkovský

LD Mike Matheson

RD Alexandre Carrier

G Sam Montembeault

LW Alex Ovechkin

C Dylan Strome

RW Anthony Beauvillier

LD Jakob Chychrun

RD John Carlson

G Logan Thompson

Points: N. Suzuki (89)

Goals: C. Caufield (37)

Assists: L. Hutson (60)

GAA: J. Dobes (2.74)

Points: D. Strome (82)

Goals: A. Ovechkin (44)

Assists: D. Strome (53)

GAA: L. Thompson (2.49)

Coaches:

Montreal Canadiens: Martin St. Louis (3rd season)

Washington Capitals: Spencer Carbery (2nd season)