- A pair of teams locked in close races for their respective
division Sac Louis vuitton titles will meet Saturday in Montreal, as the Canadiens host the
Washington Capitals in an important battle at the Bell Centre.
With four games left on its regular-season slate, Montreal has a two-point
lead over Boston for first place in the Northeast Division. The Bruins, who
hold two games in hand over the Canadiens, are hosting Pittsburgh on Saturday
after their originally scheduled game with the Penguins was postponed Friday
due to the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombings suspects.
Washington, meanwhile, has a two-point edge over Winnipeg for the Southeast Sac ChloĂŠ Soldes Division crown with four games left for both teams. The Jets are scheduled to
host the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Montreal is nine points ahead of Washington for the second seed in the East,
meaning the Caps cannot catch the Habs in the standings.
The Capitals had won eight straight before dropping Thursday's decision in
Ottawa, but Washington has a good chance at rebounding today against the
Canadiens. Montreal has lost seven of its past eight games in this series and
the Caps have claimed five consecutive wins at the Bell Centre.
Washington was outshot by a 38-19 margin in the 3-1 loss to the Senators.
Braden Holtby stopped 35 shots for the Caps, but it was his turnover that led
to Hermes Birkin Handbag gray golden Cory Conacher's game-winning tally in the second period.
Mike Ribeiro lit the lamp for the Capitals, who suffered their first
regulation loss since March 26 against the Islanders.
"For whatever reason we were flat tonight," said Ribeiro. "We put together a
few good shifts, but we weren't able to get any momentum going."
The Caps lost centerman Nicklas Backstrom to injury on Thursday, as he left
the game after getting hit in the right arm by a shot from teammate Mike Classic Hermes Zip Wallet Redsac chloe Green. Backstrom, who has 44 points on six goals and 38 assists this season,
was able to participate in a full practice on Friday and should be ready to go
for Saturday's game.
Saturday's tilt is the final road game of the regular season for Washington,
which will close their schedule with three straight at home. The homestand
begins Tuesday with an important matchup against the second-place Jets.
Washington is 13-8-0 at home this season and 11-10-2 on the road.
The Canadiens were able to end a three-game slide on Thursday, beating the
visiting Tampa Bay Lightning in dramatic fashion. Brian Gionta scored the
game-winning goal with 46.4 seconds left to lift Montreal to a 3-2 triumph.
Yannick Weber's shot from the left circle was wide, but bounced off the boards
and right to Gionta in front of the net. Gionta was hit from behind by a Tampa
Bay defender, but still managed to get the disc into the back of the net.
Gionta finished with two goals and Alex Galchenyuk also tallied for the
Canadiens, who led the game 2-0 at one point in the second period before
allowing Tampa Bay to get the next two goals.
Cary Price turned aside 32-of-34 shots for the win.
"The first period we had some great chances, but we also gave up good chances
too. Carey kept us in the game," Gionta said. "Some of the saves he made gave
us a chance to take the sac Louis Vuitton Pas Cher lead and win that game. If it wasn't for him, it would
have been tight down to the end, but we were able to rebound."
Saturday's contest is the regular-season finale at Bell Centre, where the
Canadiens have built a 14-6-3 record this season. Montreal will close the
season with road tests in New Jersey, Winnipeg and Toronto.
