Caps take historic win streak north of border

By Bud L. Ellis

The Washington Capitals take their historic surge north of the border starting Wednesday night.

The Caps, winners of a franchise-record 14 games in a row, take on Montreal on Wednesday. A win would tie the 1981-82 New York Islanders for second-longest streak in NHL history at 15 games in a row.

But winning at Montreal and then again at red-hot Ottawa (which just had an 11-game win streak snapped) won’t be an easy task.

Washington is 3-0 against the Canadians this season, having won the last meeting on Jan. 5 in D.C., 4-2. One week after that game, the Caps lost at Tampa Bay, but haven’t tasted defeat since. Starting with the win on Jan. 5 over Montreal, the Caps have won 17 of 18.

It’s been three days since the Caps pushed their win streak to 14 games in dramatic fashion, rallying from a three-goal deficit to down archrival Pittsburgh in overtime, 5-4.

The Canadians are 5-3-2 in their past 10 games. It’s been an unsettling week in Montreal, as Bob Gainey stepped down as general manager on Monday.

The Caps lead New Jersey by 14 points in the Eastern Conference standings.

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Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 6:48 am by bud

Tags: Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadians, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals