Montréal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals Prediction, Odds and NHL Picks for Today

Both the Canadiens and Capitals are playing on the second half of back-to-backs when they meet on Wednesday night in the nation's capital. Montreal beat Buffalo 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday, while Washington fell 4-2 to Carolina. Both teams could have some tired legs in this one, but the Capitals could be at a bigger disadvantage after battling with the Hurricanes' overly physical style of play. The Caps were out-shot 34-22 on Tuesday, and now have to turn around and face a Montreal team that is heating up coming off back-to-back wins.

The Capitals have a lot of mouths to feed in their forward group, and it seems that they are still learning how to play with newcomers Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou. Washington's lack of early-season chemistry is especially evident on the man advantage, as the Caps' power play percentage of 13.3% ranks 25th in the NHL so far this season. It's also worth noting that with Logan Thompson starting on Tuesday against Carolina, Charlie Lindgren is slated to get the starting nod between the pipes for Washington in this contest. It will be just his second start of the season and his first since October 3 against Tampa Bay. Some rust may be evident, and the Canadiens have the firepower to take advantage. Back Montreal on the moneyline.

Canadiens vs Capitals prediction: Canadiens ML (+105) available at time of publishing. Playable to +100.