Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/30/2025

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Venue:  Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +160, Capitals -192; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +155, Capitals -185; Over/Under:  6 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +155, Capitals -190; Over/Under:  6 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:  4-3-3 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 at home 5-2. Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson each led the team in assists with 2 while Lane Hutson led the team in shots on net in that game with 3. Jakub Dobeš was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 24 shots with 21 saves and a .875 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 on the road 5-2. Brandon Duhaime led the team in goals scored with 2 while Dylan Strome, Andrew Mangiapane, and Tom Wilson each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Trevor van Riemsdyk led the team in assists with 2 while Alexander Ovechkin 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 18 shots with 16 saves and a .889 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 5 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 3-1 after winning game 4 on the road. The Capitals took a 3-1 series lead with a 5-2 win over the Canadiens in the 4th game and they really took advantage of the backup goalie for Montreal. Both of these teams had their starting goalies get injured in game 3, but the Capitals got their guy back while the Canadiens didn't and that gives the Capitals a big goaltending advantage in this one. They answered back after that 6-3 loss in game 3 and their defense has looked a lot better in their 2 home games in this series. They have done a good job of shutting down the Canadiens at home, and now the Canadiens are going to have a ton of pressure on them facing elimination. The Capitals were the best team in the East this season and they looked great on home ice all year with their 26-9-6 home record while the Canadiens had a terrible losing record in their road games. The Capitals also have more experienced players to help them close out this series while this is still a really young and inexperienced Canadiens team. The Capitals have looked like the better team in this series with the way they have shut down the Canadiens offense so look for them to bring their best effort and close out this series at home. 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 30, 2025 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Capitals 4 Canadiens 1.

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Montreal Canadiens: 28-36 (+6.9 units) on the moneyline as a road underdog of +100 to +200. 18-16 (+10.1 units) on the moneyline off a home blowout loss by 3 goals or more. 22-35 (+9.3 units) on the moneyline when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%). 32-24 UNDER when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%).

Washington Capitals: 59-67 (-15.1 units) on the moneyline after playing a road game. 64-49 (-9.1 units) on the moneyline when playing against a team with a losing record. 90-108 (-27.3 units) on the moneyline against excellent power play teams- scoring on over 17.5% of their chances. 27-17 UNDER when playing with 2 days rest.

Montreal Canadiens:  P. Laine (LW) Day To Day - Upper Body. S. Montembeault (G) Day To Day - Lower-body. 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.

“I feel a bit bad for the group. I don’t really know what to say to them. If you have any answers for them, let me know.” - Martin St Louis after his team’s loss against the Capitals in game 4 of this series on Sunday.

“Remove all the power plays and penalty kills, I loved our game. I loved our start, I loved our first, I loved our second. I thought the details inside of our game were good. We weren’t generating a bunch, but that was the way it played out.” - Spencer Carbery after his team’s win against the Canadiens in game 4 of this series on Sunday.

LW Cole Caufield

C Nick Suzuki

RW Juraj Slafkovský

LD Mike Matheson

RD Alexandre Carrier

G Jakub Dobes

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)