Canadiens

The seven-game road trip has gotten rough. Make it only one win in the first six games after a difficult day in DC. The Washington Capitals ripped the ...

A great event for the Canadiens and five of the six players are still playing in the quarter-finals. The Finnish forward Oliver Kapanan has a goal and an assist after the round-robin. He has moved to the first pairing for Sweden thanks to strong play. The final player Vinzenz Rohrer is difficult to evaluate as he plays for Austria. He has in four games two goals and three assists, and could have so much more with a little belief in his own game. However, Lane Hutson is the best place to start in terms of relief that he can bring it at all levels. There is no physical battle most of the time, so he doesn’t get into any difficulty with his small frame. All three of the first line were involved in the first Canadiens goal. What he skilfully does most of the time is separate himself from the battle with ease before it even begins. A top-of-the-lineup player or two from this group is possible for the Canadiens. Caufield scored again for two on the afternoon and 21 on the season. However, to start to become a point-per-game player, there has to be some support overall through the ranks.

Alex Ovechkin records his 30th career hat-trick as Habs losing streak reaches five games and they sit in last place in Atlantic Division.

The Canadiens caught a break when Johansson appeared to score his second goal of the game to make it 8-2 with just over five minutes left in the third period. The Canadiens have now given up 16 power-play goals in the last 10 games as the Capitals went 2-for-4 on the power play. It was a sign of things to come as the Canadiens were simply overmatched by Washington. The Capitals got off to a quick start Saturday afternoon, with Gustafsson scoring only 32 seconds after the puck dropped. In their last 17 games against the Canadiens, dating back to the 2016-17 season, the Capitals have a 12-4-1 record. It was also the fifth straight loss for Montreal (0-4-1) and they end the year in last place in the Atlantic Division with a 15-19-3 record.

Alex Ovechkin notches his second hat trick of the season, leading the way in a 9-2 New Year's Eve blowout at home.

And Darcy has been in there for a few games now, and I thought it was a great spot for Charlie to come back in. He had a couple chances in front, so I thought it was good he came back in there and he was a good, positive contributing factor for our team.” Fehervary was still sporting a light brace on his left arm Friday, but he was medically cleared to play against the Canadiens after a 12-game absence. Snively had a prime scoring opportunity early, hitting the crossbar with 8:40 remaining in the first period. That was really good to get him back in there. “Scoring on the first shift, it’s nice to see,” Lindgren said. He now has six goals in his past four games and 26 on the season. Gustafsson’s goal came just 32 seconds into the game, giving a strong indication of the avalanche to come. It was Hathaway’s fourth goal of the season. “I just enjoy to play hockey,” he said. “This whole December, how we played shows how good we are,” said Erik Gustafsson, who opened the scoring with his sixth goal. By the end of a 9-2 win, hats made an appearance on the Capital One Arena ice as Ovechkin notched his second hat trick of the season.

The Montreal Canadiens will face the Washington Capitals in their last game of the calendar year. Here's everything you need to know.

[Montreal Canadiens12 hours ago ](https://montrealhockeynow.com/2022/12/31/montreal-canadiens-top-moments-of-2022/) [Montreal Canadiens11 hours ago ](https://montrealhockeynow.com/2022/12/31/montreal-canadiens-logan-mailloux-suspended-for-defending-teammate/) [Montreal Canadiens7 hours ago ](https://montrealhockeynow.com/2022/12/31/montreal-canadiens-recap-capitals-suzuki-caufield-highlighs-habs/) [Montreal Canadiens7 hours ago ](https://montrealhockeynow.com/2022/12/31/gotta-see-it-montreal-canadiens-prospect-with-a-one-punch-knockout/) 11 of his goals have come on the power play, whereas 23 of them were scored at even-strength. The puck drop is scheduled for 4 PM ET.

Montreal Canadiens Logan Mailloux has had a stellar season in the OHL, but was just suspended after coming to his goaltender's defence.

[London Knights](https://londonknights.com/). [Montreal Canadiens14 hours ago ](https://montrealhockeynow.com/2022/12/31/montreal-canadiens-top-moments-of-2022/) [Montreal Canadiens13 hours ago ](https://montrealhockeynow.com/2022/12/31/montreal-canadiens-logan-mailloux-suspended-for-defending-teammate/) [Montreal Canadiens9 hours ago ](https://montrealhockeynow.com/2022/12/31/montreal-canadiens-recap-capitals-suzuki-caufield-highlighs-habs/) [Montreal Canadiens9 hours ago ](https://montrealhockeynow.com/2022/12/31/gotta-see-it-montreal-canadiens-prospect-with-a-one-punch-knockout/) Little restraint would go a long way.