The Montréal Canadiens visit the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, with puck drop set for 7:30 PM EDT.
Matchup: Montréal Canadiens (3-2-1, 7 points in 2026-27) at Washington Capitals (3-3-0, 6 points in 2026-27)
Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Puck drop: 7:30 PM EDT
Venue: Capital One Arena
How to watch: WSH: Prime, MNMT
Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster
Montréal Canadiens News & Notes
Injuries continue to shape the Montreal lineup. The Canadiens recalled forward Owen Beck from AHL Laval ahead of Monday’s game against Buffalo, with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov on injured reserve and Florian Xhekaj day-to-day after leaving practice. Xhekaj had already missed Saturday’s game against Detroit. Beck, drafted 33rd overall in 2022, had an assist in four games with the Rocket and was slated to center the fourth line alongside Jake Evans and Kirby Dach. He has a goal and an assist in 28 NHL games.
The goaltending picture has also shifted. Sam Montembeault suffered a lower-body injury in practice earlier this month, prompting the recall of Jacob Fowler, who drew the start against Nashville. Montembeault had not started this season, with Jakub Dobes handling the first three games and posting a 1-1-1 record, a 4.43 goals-against average and an .856 save percentage. Fowler went 9-6-2 with a 2.43 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage as a rookie last season, including a shutout against Pittsburgh.
Washington Capitals News & Notes
Washington remains attached to the Dylan Larkin trade talk out of Detroit. Larkin expanded his trade list from three teams to eight, adding Dallas, Washington, Colorado, Tampa Bay and one unnamed club to an original group of Minnesota, Vegas and Florida. The Capitals are viewed as one of the more plausible fits because of their prospect depth, with Cole Hutson, Ryan Leonard and the Protas brothers listed among the names Detroit would value in a return package.
The complication is the ledger. Washington has less than $200,000 in cap space, which means any significant addition would require sending salary the other way. Pierre-Luc Dubois, signed at $8.5 million through 2031, is the contract most often floated in that scenario, though he carries a no-trade clause. Organizational depth beyond the top prospects includes Andrew Cristall and Ivan Miroshnichenko, the latter of whom has produced in the AHL without carrying it over to the NHL.
Montréal Canadiens Projected Lines
Line 1: Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky
Line 2: Chris Kreider – Alex Newhook – Josh Anderson
Line 3: Zack Bolduc – Phillip Danault – Alexandre Texier
Line 4: Kirby Dach – Jake Evans – Owen Beck
Pair 1: Lane Hutson – Noah Dobson
Pair 2: Kaiden Guhle – Alexandre Carrier
Pair 3: Arber Xhekaj – Adam Engstrom
Goaltenders: Jacob Fowler – Jakub Dobes
Montréal Canadiens Special Teams
Power play, First unit: Chris Kreider – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky – Cole Caufield – Lane Hutson
Power play, Second unit: Kirby Dach – Alex Newhook – Alexandre Texier – Noah Dobson – Zack Bolduc
Penalty kill, First unit: Phillip Danault – Josh Anderson – Kaiden Guhle – Alexandre Carrier
Penalty kill, Second unit: Jake Evans – Alex Newhook – Lane Hutson – Noah Dobson
Washington Capitals Projected Lines
Line 1: Alex Tuch – Dylan Strome – Tom Wilson
Line 2: Aliaksei Protas – Ilya Protas – Alex Ovechkin
Line 3: Ryan Leonard – Boone Jenner – Jordan Kyrou
Line 4: Ethen Frank – Justin Sourdif – Anthony Beauvillier
Pair 1: Jakob Chychrun – Timothy Liljegren
Pair 2: Martin Fehervary – Vincent Desharnais
Pair 3: Cole Hutson – Justin Holl
Goaltenders: Logan Thompson – Charlie Lindgren
Washington Capitals Special Teams
Power play, First unit: Tom Wilson – Dylan Strome – Ryan Leonard – Alex Ovechkin – Jakob Chychrun
Power play, Second unit: Alex Tuch – Ilya Protas – Ethen Frank – Cole Hutson – Jordan Kyrou
Penalty kill, First unit: Aliaksei Protas – Tom Wilson – Martin Fehervary – Vincent Desharnais
Penalty kill, Second unit: Boone Jenner – Alex Tuch – Jakob Chychrun – Timothy Liljegren
Players To Watch
Nick Suzuki — Montréal Canadiens
Suzuki logged 23:32 and fired five shots last time out, picking up an assist. Box Score Junkie has him at 64.5% Corsi-for this season to date with 76.1 shot attempts for per 60 and 3.0 high-danger xG generated while he’s on the ice. He’s scored three goals on 1.4 expected — volume plus finishing makes him a points play.
Jordan Kyrou — Washington Capitals
With Pierre-Luc Dubois out ill, Kyrou becomes the Capitals’ most reliable driver. Box Score Junkie’s 2026-27 numbers to date have him at 58.9% Corsi-for and 58.1% Fenwick across 67 minutes, with 68.2 shot attempts for per 60. One goal on 0.6 expected suggests the chances are there — shots-on-goal props are worth a look.
Injury Report
Montréal Canadiens
Florian Xhekaj (LW) — Out, Undisclosed, expected back Wednesday, October 14
Mike Matheson (D) — Out, Lower Body, expected back Wednesday, October 14
Sam Montembeault (G) — Injured Reserve, Lower Body, expected back Tuesday, October 20
Oliver Kapanen (C) — Injured Reserve, Lower Body, expected back Wednesday, October 14
Ivan Demidov (RW) — Injured Reserve, Lower Body, expected back Saturday, October 31
Bryce Pickford (D) — Injured Reserve, Undisclosed, expected back Saturday, October 17
Lucas Condotta (LW) — Injured Reserve, Undisclosed, expected back Saturday, October 31
Washington Capitals
Pierre-Luc Dubois (LW) — Out, Illness, expected back Wednesday, October 14
Rasmus Sandin (D) — Injured Reserve, Knee, expected back Saturday, December 26
Matt Roy (D) — Injured Reserve, Lower Body, expected back Saturday, October 17
Patrick Thomas (C) — Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Saturday, October 24
Next Up
Montréal Canadiens: host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, October 17.
Washington Capitals: host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, October 17.