Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals: Game 2 preview, predictions and odds | Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1, April 23, 2025

The Montreal Canadiens are on the road to play the Washington Capitals on the road on Wednesday, April 22 at 7 p.m. ET in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Washington won Game 1 3-2 in OT after allowing two unanswered goals in the third period.

Canadiens vs Capitals: Head-to-head & key stats

Montreal is 1-2 against Washington this season
Montreal is allowing 3.18 goals per game
The Capitals are averaging 3.48 goals per game
The Canadiens are averaging 2.96 goals per game
Washington is 26-9-6 at home
The Canadiens are 17-19-5 on the road
Washington is allowing 2.79 goals per game

Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals: Preview

Montreal rallied to force OT in Game 1 but lost in OT. In Game 1, the Canadiens were led by Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, who each had a goal. Lane Hutson had 2 assists.

The Canadiens will start Sam Montembeault, who went 31-24-7 with a 2.82 GAA and a .901 SV%. In his career against Washington, he's 2-3 with a 3.49 GAA and a .893 SV%. In Game 1, Montembeault is 0-1 with a 2.89 GAA and a .906 SV% in the playoffs.

Washington, meanwhile, nearly blew their 2-0 lead but did score in OT to take a 1-0 series lead. The Capitals were led by Alex Ovechkin, who scored twice and had an assist, including the OT winner. Washington was also led by Dylan Strome had 3 assists, and Anthony Beauvillier had a goal and an assist.

The Capitals will start Logan Thompson who went 31-6-6 with a 2.49 GAA and a .910 SV%. In his career against Montreal, he's 1-0-1 with a 3.04 GAA and a .889 SV%. In Game 1, Thompson had a 1.92 GAA and a .943 SV%.

Canadiens vs Capitals: Odds & Prediction

Montreal is a +164 underdog while Washington is a -198 favorite, and the over/under is set at 5.5 goals.

The Canadiens played well in the third period and should be able to use that as momentum. However, Thompson is stellar in net and he will continue to limit the Canadiens' offense as Washington will get a big win here.

Washington's offense is also solid as Montembeault has question marks as the Caps will take a 2-0 series lead.

Prediction: Capitals 4, Canadiens 2.

Canadiens vs Capitals: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Washington ML (-198)

Tip 2: Over 5.5 goals (-120)

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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Edited by Cole Shelton