Washington knocked Montréal out of the playoffs in 2025 and has won three of the four meetings since. The Capitals host the Canadiens at Capital One Arena on Wednesday 14 October. Puck drop is 7:30pm ET on a two-game night. Our Capitals vs Canadiens prediction, the team news and the price on both sides are below.
How to watch
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Game | Montréal Canadiens at Washington Capitals |
| Date | Wednesday 14 October 2026 |
| Puck drop | 7:30pm ET |
| Venue | Capital One Arena, Washington |
| Records | Washington 3-3-0, Montréal 3-2-1 |
Regional coverage differs from the national listing and blackouts apply in parts of Canada. Our how to watch the NHL in Canada page has the full picture.
Capitals vs Canadiens odds
Only Rivalry had posted a Canadian price when this page was built: Washington −130, Montréal +110. Most Canadian books post an NHL line the night before or the morning of a game, so the rest of the board follows closer to puck drop. It lands on our NHL odds page.
Washington has had Montréal’s number since the playoff series
These two last met properly in a first-round series in April 2025. Washington took it in five. Since then the regular-season record reads three wins to one in the Capitals’ favour, including an 8-4 night at the Bell Centre. Montréal’s one win in that run was emphatic, 6-2 at home in February. This is not a hex. It is a matchup Washington has usually handled.
All time the series is as level as it gets. Montréal leads 101-78-23. Washington has 101 wins of its own. Across 202 completed meetings there is almost nothing in it.
How they compare
| 2025-26 | Montréal Canadiens | Washington Capitals |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 48-24-10 | 43-30-9 |
| Points | 106 | 95 |
| Goals for per game | 3.40 | 3.18 |
| Goals against per game | 3.06 | 2.90 |
| Power play | 23.1% | 17.8% |
| Penalty kill | 78.2% | 80.1% |
Montréal finished eleven points clear of Washington last season with a far better power play. Washington conceded less and killed penalties better. Neither club has reproduced any of it through six games.
Both teams are playing high-scoring hockey
Montréal’s five games have produced 34 goals between the sides. That is 6.8 a night, and the range is extreme. An 11-goal overtime loss in Pittsburgh. A 10-goal defeat to Carolina. Then a 1-0 shootout win over Detroit in which neither side scored for 65 minutes. Washington’s five have produced 31, at 6.2 a night. Neither club has settled yet.
Jacob Fowler’s 30-save shutout on Saturday is the most encouraging thing Montréal has done all season. The crease had been the obvious worry with Sam Montembeault unavailable. Fowler answered it the hard way. Whether he gets this one is a question for the morning skate, which our projected NHL starting goalies page tracks.
Washington knocked Montréal out and has mostly had the better of it since
| Date | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Feb 2026 | Montréal 6-2 | Montréal |
| 13 Jan 2026 | Washington 3-2 (OT) | Washington |
| 20 Nov 2025 | Washington 8-4 | Montréal |
| Apr 2025 | Washington won the series 4-1 | First round |
Washington took the first-round series in five in April 2025 and then two of the three regular-season meetings that followed. Montréal’s win was emphatic, 6-2 at the Bell Centre at the end of February.
The all-time record is as level as it gets: 101 wins each. Across 202 completed meetings there is almost nothing in it, which makes the recent run the more useful guide.
Team news
| Club | Player | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Montréal | Ivan Demidov | Out. The club announced on Tuesday that he is sidelined two to four weeks with a lower-body injury |
| Montréal | Sam Montembeault | Out, lower body, on injured reserve |
| Montréal | Mike Matheson | Out, lower body. He played 23:01 against Detroit on Saturday, so this is a fresh absence |
| Montréal | Oliver Kapanen | Out, lower body, on injured reserve |
| Montréal | Florian Xhekaj | Day to day, undisclosed |
| Washington | Rasmus Sandin | Out. Long-term injured reserve after an ACL repair in late April carrying a six to nine month timetable |
| Washington | Matt Roy | Out, lower body, on injured reserve |
| Washington | Pierre-Luc Dubois | Out, illness |
Demidov is the absence that decides how this reads. He played all 82 games last season for 19 goals and 43 assists. Montréal is without him for a month on the club’s own timeline. Losing Matheson takes another 23 minutes a night off a blue line that was already short. Washington is missing a defenceman of its own in Sandin. Availability across the league is on our NHL injury report.
Players to watch
Jacob Fowler, Montréal. Thirty saves on thirty against Detroit, and the only Canadiens goaltender to look settled this season. He faces a Washington side that has scored five or more three times in five games.
Nick Suzuki, Montréal. The captain carries more of this team with Demidov out. He logged 26:06 against Detroit, the most of any Montréal forward that night.
Washington’s power play. The Capitals have scored first in three of five and then held on. Montréal is missing two of its top four defencemen. Special teams is where this most likely turns.
Score prediction
Washington Capitals 4-3 Montréal Canadiens. Washington is at home and has the healthier back end. It has handled this matchup for eighteen months. Montréal scores enough to keep it close. That is why the margin stays at one.
Capitals vs Canadiens prediction
Washington should win this. It is at home, it is 3-2-0 and it has taken three of the last four against Montréal. It is also missing less. Montréal arrives without its best young forward, its first-choice goaltender and its most-used defenceman. That is a lot to absorb in one week.
The case for Montréal is Fowler, and the fact this series rarely goes to form. Washington lost 5-3 at home to Seattle on Sunday. The Capitals are not arriving in perfect order either. Our lean: Washington, and the over if the total sits at 6 or lower. These two have played to an average of six and a half goals a night. Montréal’s games in particular have been wild. Where both sit against the other 30 is on our NHL power rankings, and tonight’s other games are on the NHL schedule.
Puck drop is 7:30pm ET on Wednesday 14 October 2026 at Capital One Arena in Washington.
Montréal won 6-2 at the Bell Centre on 28 February 2026. Before that Washington had won two in a row, and Washington eliminated Montréal in five games in the first round of the 2025 playoffs.
No. Montréal announced on Tuesday that Demidov is out for two to four weeks with a lower-body injury.
Sam Montembeault is on injured reserve. Jacob Fowler started Saturday’s 1-0 shootout win over Detroit and stopped all 30 shots he faced. The starter is confirmed at the morning skate rather than in advance.
Washington to win, and the over if the total sits at 6 or lower. Washington is at home, has taken three of the last four meetings, and Montréal is without Demidov, Montembeault and Matheson.
19+ (18+ in AB, MB and QC). Picks are opinion, not advice, and odds change constantly. Availability varies by province. Please play responsibly. ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600 for Ontario residents; see your province’s helpline for resources elsewhere.