Caps Game Night – at Canadiens, 3/15/11

Where » Bell Centre

When » 7 p.m.

TV » CSN HD

Radio » WFED-1500 AM

You would think Bell Centre would resemble something out of a horror movie to the Caps. It was just 11 months ago that Jaroslav Halak committed pure larceny in an epic 53-save, Game 6 performance that set the stage for Washington’s ultimate collapse in that first-round Stanley Cup playoff series. The blown 3-1 lead will haunt the Caps until they make a deep playoff run to make everyone, including themselves, forget about it.

But for now they shouldn’t really be quaking in their skates at playing a game in Montreal for the first time since that Game 6. Depending on the lineup available to Bruce Boudreau, as many as seven players wouldn’t have been on the roster (Dennis Wideman, Marco Sturm, Scott Hannan, Matt Hendricks, Braden Holtby, Jay Beagle, Marcus Johansson).

The Canadiens don’t have Halak anymore. But Washington might not see any difference as Carey Price has put together a monster season. He ranks fifth in the NHL in save percentage (.924) and sixth in goals-against average (2.29). That’s a remarkable comeback for a player who seemed finished in Montreal last spring when the Caps scored six goals against him on just 59 shots in two appearances totaling 90 minutes.

It’s a big game for both teams as the Eastern Conference playoff chase heads into the home stretch. Washington – just one point behind Philadelphia for the No. 1 seed – is in good shape. But the No. 1 Flyers and No. 3 Boston both have two games in hand on the Caps and the No. 6 Canadiens have one in hand on them. Plus, the Southeast Division lead is back down to three points over Tampa Bay after the Lightning smashed Toronto last night. Montreal is pretty safe as the No. 6 seed at worst. It is seven points over the Rangers and Sabres, who hold the final two playoff spots. But the Canadiens are also just two points behind the Bruins for the Northeast Division lead and still have time to win that race.

Holtby is again in goal for the Caps. The NHL’s First Star for his performance last week (4-0, .965 save percentage) gets his fourth start in a row. The Post’s Katie Carrera also reports that Brooks Laich skated with Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin on the top line during today’s morning skate at Bell Centre and rookie center Marcus Johansson was with Mike Knuble and Marco Sturm. Jay Beagle enters the lineup at third-line center with the fourth line remaining the same as recent games.

One complication: Nicklas Backstrom is on the trip and will be a game-time decision, according to multiple reports from Montreal. He has had the cast protecting his fractured left thumb removed. Backstrom made the trip, but veteran center Jason Arnott did not. He is “week-to-week”, according to the Caps, with an undisclosed injury. That’s a serious blow to a team already missing Backstrom and defensemen Mike Green and Tom Poti.

We’ll see if Washington can shake off the Arnott news and start this six-game road swing on a good note. A game at Detroit looms tomorrow. The Caps are on a roll with eight wins in a row and just 12 goals allowed during that streak. They have also won 11 of their last 13 games – 10 of those victories by a single goal.

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