Canadiens Preview & Lines: Primeau Recalled, Goalie Injuries

The Montreal Canadiens (1-2) are set to host the Washington Capitals (2-1) at the Bell Centre, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET.

The Habs will look to capitalize on the momentum that is clearly in their corner following a dominant 6-3 win over the Capitals on Friday night. Not only did the Canadiens have a significant advantage in the physical battles, they outplayed Washington by a rather large margin.

Most of the attention was given to the Josh Anderson and Tom Wilson fight that spilled into the Capitals bench, and while there’s certainly some value in discussing the impact made by Anderson, Arber Xhekaj, and other hard-hitting players, it’s also important to note Montreal finally held an edge in high-danger scoring chances, powered by a fantastic performance from the first line.

That’s not to say the rest of the forward lines struggled. For the most part, they were very good, including the new combination that featured Ivan Demidov alongside Alex Newhook and Jake Evans.

But as per tradition, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky are driving the offensive charge, a situation that’s even more impressive when we consider they’re outplaying Washington’s elite shutdown line, which features Wilson, Connor McMichael, and Pierre-Luc Dubois.

The Suzuki line has controlled almost 70 percent of the shots, goals, expected goals, and high-danger chances throughout the first three games of the series.

Those aren’t just good numbers, they’re flat-out elite.

ON TOPIC: Top 3 Encouraging Canadiens Facts Overshadowed By Big Win

It wasn’t all positive, as both starting netminders had to leave Friday’s game due to an injury. Logan Thompson was absolutely levelled by Dylan Strome, and judging by the impact, it may end up being a serious injury.

As for Samuel Montembeault, he had to leave the game after a lateral push seemingly caused a muscle strain in his left leg, leading to rookie Jakub Dobes making his playoff debut. Given that Montembeault has not yet been cleared to play, the Canadiens decided to err on the side of caution by recalling Cayden Primeau from the Laval Rocket.

Both Montembeault and Thompson are considered game-time decisions.

MUST READ: Montreal Canadiens Goaltending Options, Montembeault Injury

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Washington Capitals Projected Lineup

Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Anthony Beauvillier

Connor McMichael – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Tom Wilson

Andrew Magiapane – Lars Eller – Ryan Leonard

Brandon Duhaime – Nic Dowd – Taylor Raddysh

Jakub Chychrun – John Carlson

Rasmus Sandin – Matt Roy

Alexander Alexeyev – Trevor van Riemsdyk

Logan Thompson

Charlie Lindgren

How to Watch the Montreal Canadiens vs. the Washington Capitals, Sunday, April 27, 2025

Game 4 of the Capitals – Canadiens series will be aired on TVA Sports and Sportsnet. Once the game is over, an instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Montreal Hockey Now.