Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals: Game 5 preview, predictions and odds

By Umesh KumarSports

The Montreal Canadiens are on the road to play the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series on April 30. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET.

Montreal lost Game 4 by a score of 5-2 as Washington has taken a 3-1 stranglehold of the best-of-seven series.

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

  • Montreal is 1-2 against Washington this season, and 1-3 in the playoffs
  • 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 is down 3-1 in the series and now goes on the road for Game 5, where the Canadiens have yet to win this playoffs. In Game 4, the Canadiens were led by Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, who both scored.

The Canadiens will start Jakub Dobes as Sam Montembeault is hurt. This season, Dobes went 7-4-3 with a 2.74 GAA and a .909 SV%. In his career against Washington, he’s 1-0 with a 1.96 GAA and a .882 SV%. In the playoffs, Dobes is 1-1 with a 2.77 GAA and a .875 SV%.

Washington, meanwhile, can advance to the second round with a win at home on Wednesday. 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 the playoffs, he’s 3-1 with a 2.54 GAA and a .912 SV%.

The Capitals in Game 4 were led by Brandon Duhaime who scored twice, Dylan Strome had a goal and an assist, while Andrew Mangiapane and Tom Wilson both scored.

Canadiens vs Capitals: Odds & Prediction

Montreal is a +150 underdog while Washington is a -180 favorite, and the over/under is set at 6.5 goals.

The Canadiens have played well in this series, but losing Montembeault was tough. The Capitals’ offense has also been clicking this series, especially at home.

Look for Washington to get out to an early lead and the Capitals to cruise to a lopsided win here to advance to the second round.

Prediction: Capitals 5, Canadiens 2.

Canadiens vs Capitals: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Washington ML (-180)

Tip 2: Washington -1.5 (+136)

Tip 3: Over 6.5 goals (+114)