Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals Odds, Spread, and Totals
The Montreal Canadiens will open their postseason against the Washington Capitals tonight, making the trip to the Capital One Arena to attempt to pull off a series-opening upset. Despite their…
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 10: Juraj Slafkovsky #20 of the Montreal Canadiens skates against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Capital One Arena on January 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
The Montreal Canadiens will open their postseason against the Washington Capitals tonight, making the trip to the Capital One Arena to attempt to pull off a series-opening upset.
Despite their status as a playoff team, Montreal does not enter this game on any sort of hot streak. The Canadiens have lost three of their last four games, mainly due to a handful of poor defensive performances, including a game in which they ceded five goals to the Ottawa Senators. They will need strong offensive performances from Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield to keep up with a potent Washington offense.
Surprisingly, the Capitals also ended the regular season on a bit of a sour note, earning an identical record to the Canadiens over their last four games. Led by NHL legend Alexander Ovechkin, Washington sports one of the best scoring attacks in the league, relying on their offensive depth to put together quick-hitting blitzes that should continue to be effective against a leaky Montreal defense that ranks in the bottom ten teams in the NHL in goals allowed per game.
Spread
- Canadiens +1.5 (-158)
- Capitals -1.5 (+140)
Moneyline
- Canadiens +165
- Capitals -185
Totals
- OVER 5.5 (-130)
- UNDER 6 (-117)
*The above data was collected on April 21, 2025, and may have changed since writing.
Canadiens vs Capitals Betting Trends
- The Canadiens went 48-34 ATS during the regular season.
- The Canadiens earned an equal record ATS on the road and at home, going 24-17.
- The OVER went 23-16-2 in Montreal's regular-season road games.
- The Capitals went 23-18 ATS at home.
- The Capitals covered two of their three games against the Canadiens during the regular season.
- The OVER went 21-18-2 in Washington's regular-season home games.
Canadiens vs Capitals Injury Reports
Montreal Canadiens
- No injuries of note.
Washington Capitals
- Logan Thompson, G - Day-to-Day.
- Martin Fehervary, D - Day-to-Day.
- Alexei Protas, C - Out.
Canadiens vs Capitals Predictions and Picks
Bryan Logan of ClutchPoints writes, "The Capitals come into this Stanley Cup Playoffs game one against the Canadiens as favorites in terms of odds. The Canadiens have won seven of their last ten games. In that time, they have played great defense, allowing just 21 goals. Meanwhile, the Capitals have just four wins in their last ten games and have struggled on defense overall. They have allowed 44 goals in their last ten games. The Capitals have been the better team, but with Logan Thompson and Aleksai Protas still out of the lineup, they will have some trouble with this pesky Canadiens squad. Take the Canadiens to cover in this one."
While the Canadiens should cover here, that pick is not the best one on the board. Both of these teams have had a hard time slowing down their opponents, a deficiency that lasted the whole season for the Canadiens. Washington does rank in the top ten in the NHL in most defensive metrics, but Montreal managed to score at least two goals in every meeting with Washington this season. The Capitals should be able to do the heavy lifting with Ovechkin and Dylan Strome, while Montreal's offense adds a couple of goals to cash the over.
