December 17th, 1982
Montreal Canadiens (22-15-2) at Washington Capitals (21-15-2)
The Habs boarded a plane right after the game against Buffalo and will play on back to back nights. Montreal send down G
Jason Wells to the AHL and recalled G
Richard Day from the AHL. Day is 20-6-3 with a 2.26 GAA and .916 save % in 29 AHL games this season. He has a sparkling .964 save % and miniscule 0.98 GAA in starts for Montreal this season. LD
Marc-Andre Berube and LW
Lorenzo Bocci are still not ready to play.
The Capitals are currently 7th in the Eastern Conference, 2 back of the 6th place Canadiens. The Capitals will pour on the shots, they are ranked 2nd with 34 shots per game. The Capitals do give up goals, they are ranked 18th with 2.71 GAA per game.
RW
Alejandro Villalobos leads the Caps with 13 goals. He also has 27 points in 38 games this season. A very strong skater, the 33 year old has strong hockey sense. The Sens sent 5 players to the Avalanche in trading for him in January 1981. In 186 NHL games he has 68 goals, 92 assists for 160 points with 173 PIMs and a +42 rating.
C
Don Struble leads the Capitals with 27 assists and leads the team with 34 points in 38 games. The 30 year old 1981 All-Star is a strong player-maker and great skater. In his 3rd season with the Caps, he has 55 goals, with 105 assists and 160 points with 130 PIMs and a +43 rating in 174 NHL games.
LW
Ed Holman is 2nd on the Capitals with 28 points, including 11 goals. The 26 year old is a goal scorer with a strong skating ability. Holman was acquired in a trade with the Penguins on November 2nd, 1981. In his 3rd season in the NHL, he has 44 goals with 63 assists and 107 points with 120 PIMs and a -6 rating in 203 NHL games.
As mentioned, the Habs will start G
Richard Day. The Capitals will start G
Tim Stowell, he has 12 wins in 27 starts with a .906 save %.
Washington scores 1st, LW
Stan Simpson gets his 3rd of the year at 4:57 for a 1-0 lead. The period ends 1-0 in favour of the Capitals. Washington out shot Montreal 13 to 7 as well.
Montreal ties it up 1-1 at 8:44 with C
Chris Hughes scoring his 18th of the year. Thats how period 2 ends, 1-1. The shots were 10 to 9 for Montreal. Montreal is 0 for 2 on the PP while Washington is 0 for 1.
Washington takes the lead on the PP at 11:27 when RW
Brian McLane gets his 10th of the year. Its now 2-1 Washington. Montreal ties it up 2-2 at 13:42 when RW
Al Ladd gets his 13th of the season from in tight. Washington again take the lead on the PP, C
Don Struble gets his 8th of the year at 15:57. Its now 3-2 Washington. The games ends with the Capitals winning 3-2. Washington out shot Montreal in the 3rd 14 to 7. The Caps were 2 for 3 on the PP, Montreal was 0 for 2.
Capitals RW
Brian McLane was named the 1st star, he had a goal and an assist. The 25 year old McLane now has 10 goals and 24 points in 39 games. For his career, all 3 seasons with Washington he has 35 goals and 81 points with 129 PIMs and a -18 rating in 203 games.
Washington 3
Montreal 2
| PER | TEAM | GOAL | # | ASSIST | ASSIST |
| 1st | WAS | Stan Simpson | 3 | Martin Hampl | Donald Miles |
| 2nd | MTL | Chris Hughes | 18 | Batsaikhany Vanoosten | Martin Sulc |
| 3rd | WAS | Brian McLane (PP) | 10 | Alejandro Villalobos | Keith Sutton |
| 3rd | MTL | Al Ladd | 13 | Clint Arrington | Chris Hughes |
| 3rd | WAS | Don Struble (PP) | 8 | Brian McLane | Marshall Lawson |
| TEAM | GOALIE | SA | GA |
| MTL | Richard Day | 36 | 3 |
| WAS | Tim Stowell | 24 | 2 |
Around the league.........
Dallas Stars RW
Domenico Giunti had a goal and 3 assists in a 6-2 win over the Kings. The 27 year old Giunti now has 17 goals and 47 points in 40 games. In 3 seasons with Dallas, he has 56 goals and 171 points with 204 PIMs and a +38 rating in 196 NHL games.
Washington Capitals C
Don Struble had 2 goals and an assist in a 5-2 win over the Blues. The 30 year old Struble now has 10 goals and 38 points in 40 games. In 176 career games, he has 58 goals and 164 points with 130 PIMs and a +43 rating.
Chicago Blackhawks C
Andrew MacWhirr had a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win over the Kings. The 28 year old MacWhirr now has 15 goals and 37 points in 38 games. The 1982 Art Ross Trophy Winner has 97 goals with 209 points with 158 PIMs and a +11 rating in 198 career NHL games.
Nashville Predators RW
Cash Carrick had a goal and 2 assists in a 7-2 win over the Coyotes. The 27 year old Carrick from Calgary AB now has 17 goals and 35 points in 40 games. In his 3rd season with Nashville, he has 38 goals and 91 points with 74 PIMs and a +18 rating in 170 career NHL games. He missed much of the 1982 season due to injury.