The Montreal Canadiens will get a good measure of where they stand in this early season when they host the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals at Bell Centre on Thursday.The Canadiens Authentic Alexander Wennberg Jersey , who finished 14th in the Eastern Conference last season, are 6-3-2, but are coming off one of their poorest performances of the season, a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on home ice Tuesday. It was the Stars’ first road win of the season.This will be the second of a three-game homestand for the Canadiens, which concludes Saturday when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Canadiens are in the first wild-card position in the Eastern Conference.Article continues below ...Canadiens coach Claude Julien wasn’t sure Wednesday who would be available to face the Capitals. Top forwards Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron did not practice Wednesday. Gallagher is expected to play while Byron’s (lower body) status is uncertain.If Byron cannot play, forward Andrew Shaw, who has battled a series of injuries (concussion and knee) and has been a healthy scratch for the past two games, could be back in the lineup.“It’s really hard. My game isn’t at the level it should be,” Shaw told the team’s website. “I missed a lot of games. With the speed of games night after night Chris Terry Jersey Womens , I have to be at my best … I’ll be ready when the team needs me.”Julien was preaching patience with Shaw, who is at his best when he plays an energy game and agitates the opposition.“We had a conversation and we were honest. He listened and he understood. At the end of the day, it isn’t his fault or mine,” Julien told reporters at his daily briefing. “We have to work together to get him back playing his best hockey. He had a lot of major injuries, so he has to get back on track.“When Shaw is at his best, he brings a lot to the table. He can play on the top lines, on the power play and on the penalty kill. He can also be an energy player on the fourth line. He can bring a little bit of everything.”Julien also juggled his lines after the loss to the Capitals with an interesting all-Finns line of Artturi Lehkonen, rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Joel Armian skating together in practice.Carey Price will start in goal for the Canadiens and will face Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, who is showing no signs of a Stanley Cup hangover. Ovechkin leads the Capitals with eight goals Dennis Cholowski Jersey Womens , three off the league lead held by Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks and David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins.The Canadiens have been one of Ovechkin’s favorite teams to play against over the years. He had 49 points (27 goals and 22 assists) in 46 games against the Canadiens. Ovechkin seems to light up when he plays in the electric atmosphere at Bell Centre.Capitals rookie coach Todd Reirden said Ovechkin has become a more well-rounded player.“I’ve liked how his overall game has been good and consistent, and I’ve liked how his first 10 games have been compared to last year’s 10 games,” Reirden told NHL.com. “Maybe he had a few more goals initially, obviously, with the hat tricks and stuff like that, but his overall game for me is better.”Ovechkin started last season with seven goals in two games — three against the Ottawa Senators and four against the Canadiens.Ovechkin modified his offseason workouts, taking more time off between sessions last summer.“Mentally, I feel better,” he told NHL.com. “But physically Matt Read Jersey Womens , it’s hard to say because last year we had a different schedule. Last year, almost every second day we had a game. and this year as soon as you get in a rhythm then you have days off. But right now, almost every second day we’re going to have a game, so it’s going to be fun.”The Capitals (5-3-2, fourth in the Metropolitan Division) will finish a four-game road trip against the Canadiens. They are 2-1-0 so far on the trip across Canada.Capitals defenseman Brooks Orik will miss the game against the Canadiens after sustaining a lower body injury against the Calgary Flames on Saturday. The Capitals called up Aaron Ness from their Hershey farm team in the AHL. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Tuukka Rask and the stubborn Boston Bruins stymied the Tampa Bay Lightning – and got even closer in the standings.Rask stopped 23 shots to hand Tampa Bay its first shutout of the season and lifted the Bruins over the Lightning 3-0 on Saturday night.It was Rask’s third shutout of the season and 41st of his career. It was also the first time the Lightning failed to score a goal since a 4-0 loss at Boston on April 4, 2017 – also against Rask.”It’s playoff hockey,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said, ”and I thought we were better at it than they were tonight.”David Pastrnak Matt Hendricks Jersey Womens , David Backes and Riley Nash all scored for Boston, which moved within two points of the Lightning for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with one game in hand. Torey Krug assisted on all three of the Bruins’ goals.But the Bruins hope the win didn’t come at a high cost.The Bruins played the final two periods without Backes, who left following a scary incident late in the first period. As Backes tumbled to the ice and fell into the crease area, the back of Yanni Gourde’s skate appeared to make contact just below Backes’ right knee. Backes immediately grabbed his leg. As he was making his way to the Boston bench, blood appeared to seep through his pants as he was rushed back to the locker room.The Bruins reported that Backes was resting after suffering a laceration on his knee that required approximately 18 stitches to close. Cassidy reported there was no structural damage.”I think the concern is probably when you have those deep cuts is infection, so that’s usually a couple of days to see how it heals up,” Cassidy said. ”I don’t want to say he dodged a bullet because it’s an unfortunate accident, but it looks like he’ll be OK.”Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 24 shots for the Lightning, whose last shutout at home came on March 16 Eric Fehr Jersey Womens , 2017, by Toronto’s Frederik Andersen. Tampa Bay has lost consecutive games for the first time since going 9-0-1 in the previous 10 games.”Now is the time when you really have to look yourself in the mirror and really push yourself and hammer down on the details,” Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman said. ”We have to step up, we have to work. That was a good test. We got outplayed and now we have to raise the bar.”Pastrnak opened the scoring with his 28th goal of the season, getting a step ahead of Mikhail Sergachev coming down the slot to take a pass from Krug and slip a backhander past Vasilevskiy 3:07 in to the game.Backes scored his 12th off a rebound in front for the first of two Boston power-play goals on the night.Nash increased the lead to 3-0 in the second period with his 14th of the season.”We’ve been talking about trying to get back to our identity and playing solid defense and finding our offense through that,” Rask said. ”Today we shut it down, came back hard and played solid, solid defense and scored three goals.”NOTES: Tampa Bay recalled G Louis Domingue from Syracuse of the American Hockey League before the game and he dressed as the backup. … Boston improved to 32-0-3 this season when holding a two-goal lead at any point in the game. … The Lightning have allowed five power-play goals in the past three games and at least one power-play goal in 11 of the past 12. … Boston D Zdeno Chara missed his second consecutive game with an unspecified upper-body injury.UP NEXT:Lightning: Host Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.Bruins: Host Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday.