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 Montreal Canadiens T-Shirts Authentic , 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, 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 Montreal Canadiens Hoodies Authentic ,” 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, 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 Montreal Canadiens Hats Authentic , taking more time off between sessions last summer.“Mentally, I feel better,” he told NHL.com. “But physically, 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. LAS VEGAS (AP) The Latest on NHL awards show at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (all times local):7:15 p.m.New Jersey forward Taylor Hall has won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player.Hall beat out Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon in a contest between three first-time finalists for the award.Hall finished sixth in the league with 93 points for the Devils. He is the first New Jersey player to win the Hart.Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft, likely got the nod over two worthy contenders because of the way he carried the Devils offensively while they reached the playoffs for the first time in five years. He scored 41 more points than rookie Nico Hischier, the Devils’ second-leading scorer.—6:52 p.m.George McPhee has been named the NHL’s general manager of the year in the fourth trophy given to the Vegas Golden Knights at the NHL Awards.Exactly one year after his remarkable performance in the expansion draft, McPhee was a no-brainer choice for the award after his masterful assembly of the most successful debut team in recent sports history.The Golden Knights went 51-24-7 and won the Pacific Division before reaching the Stanley Cup Final Custom Montreal Canadiens Jerseys , setting innumerable records along the way for first-year success.McPhee beat out Winnipeg’s Kevin Cheveldayoff and Tampa Bay’s Steve Yzerman for the award.McPhee joins coach Gerard Gallant, Lady Byng winner William Karlsson and Mark Messier Leadership Award winner Deryk Engelland with trophies from the annual show in the Golden Knights’ hometown.—6:40 p.m.Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne has won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie.The 35-year-old Finn won his position’s top honor for the first time, beating out Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy.Rinne was a Vezina finalist for the fourth time. He finally got it after a standout regular season for the Presidents’ Trophy winners in Nashville, where he has been a stalwart in goal since 2008.Rinne went 42-13-4 with eight shutouts, a 2.31 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage for the Predators. He also earned his 300th career victory on Feb. 22.Rinne struggled along with his teammates in the postseason, but voters didn’t hold it against him.—6:18 p.m.Gerard Gallant of the Vegas Golden Knights has won the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL’s top coach.Gallant was an obvious choice over Colorado’s Jared Bednar and Boston’s Bruce Cassidy after he masterminded the most spectacular expansion season in recent sports history. The Golden Knights went 51-24-7 and handily won the Pacific Division before winning 13 postseason games and reaching the Stanley Cup Final in their first playoff campaign.The 54-year-old Gallant was named the Golden Knights’ first coach in April 2017, and the veteran NHL coach provided steady leadership while turning Vegas’ expansion roster into a cohesive, motivated team. Gallant’s players praised his steady, intelligent approach to the postseason, which ended in a five-game loss to the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals.Gallant previously coached in Columbus and Florida, but his teams had never won a playoff round before Vegas’ remarkable run.—6:10 p.m.Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar has won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward.Kopitar won the trophy for the second time in three years, beating out perennial candidate and four-time winner Patrice Bergeron of Boston www.officialpredators.com , along with Philadelphia’s Sean Couturier.Kopitar led all NHL forwards in ice time during another standout season for the Kings, who were the NHL’s top statistical defensive team. The Slovenian star played extensively on the penalty kill and took 1,816 faceoffs.Kopitar was a finalist for the Selke for the fourth time in five seasons. Bergeron has been a finalist in seven straight seasons, passing Pavel Datsyuk’s NHL record.Kopitar is also a finalist for the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP.—5:56 p.m.New Jersey’s Brian Boyle has won the Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication to hockey.The other finalists were Florida’s Roberto Luongo and Carolina’s Jordan Staal.The 33-year-old Boyle was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia during training camp, but he made it back into the Devils’ lineup in November and eventually represented New Jersey at the All-Star game after teammate Taylor Hall couldn’t go because of injury.Boyle put together an outstanding season even while his 2-year-old son, Declan, also had significant health problems.—5:47 p.m.Vegas Golden Knights forward William Karlsson has won the Lady Byng Trophy as the player best combining sportsmanship and ability.After Columbus made a deal with Vegas to take Karlsson off its hands in the expansion draft, the talented Swede had a breakthrough season for the expansion Golden Knights, racking up 43 goals and 35 assists with only 12 penalty minutes. Karlsson had never scored more than 25 points in any of his three previous NHL seasons with Anaheim and the Blue Jackets.”Who would have thought?” Karlsson said with a smile after picking up his award.Karlsson’s trophy is the first individual player honor earned by the Golden Knights. Coach Gerard Gallant, general manager George McPhee and defenseman Deryk Engelland are also up for awards later in the ceremony in the Knights’ hometown.—5:39 p.m.New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal has won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie, beating out Vancouver’s Brock Boeser and Arizona’s Clayton Keller.The 21-year-old Barzal became an immediate star while scoring 85 points in 82 games for the Islanders in his first full NHL season. The 16th overall pick in the 2015 draft scored 20 points more than any other rookie, racking up 22 goals and 63 assists while centering the Islanders’ second line and providing a formidable one-two punch behind star John Tavares.Among his many superlatives Nashville Predators T-Shirts Authentic , Barzal became the first rookie in NHL history to post at least three five-point games since Montreal’s Joe Malone did it way back in 1917-18 – the NHL’s inaugural season.Barzal is the Isles’ fifth winner of the Calder Trophy, joining a trio of Hall of Famers – Denis Potvin (1974), Bryan Trottier (1976), Mike Bossy (1978) – and Bryan Berard (1997).—5:29 p.m.A few trophies awarded in Las Vegas carried no suspense because they were earned based on statistical achievements in the regular season.Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin won his seventh Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goal-scorer, and Los Angeles’ Jonathan Quick won the Jennings Trophy for the second time as the goalie for the team allowing the NHL’s fewest goals.Edmonton forward Connor McDavid is not a Hart Trophy finalist after winning the award last season as the NHL’s most valuable player, but he already won his second consecutive Art Ross Trophy as the league’s scoring champion. McDavid also got the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL’s most outstanding player chosen by the players’ union members.—5:25 p.m.Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman has won his first Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman.The imposing Swede beat out finalists P.K. Subban of Nashville and Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty, who won it last season. Hedman got 94 first-place votes to 52 for Doughty.Hedman scored 17 goals and racked up a plus-32 rating in another dominant season for the Lightning. While his 63 points were down from last season, he set a career high while playing nearly 26 minutes per game.—5:15 p.m.Connor McDavid has won the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL players union’s choice as the league’s most outstanding player.The Edmonton Oilers superstar beat out Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and New Jersey’s Taylor Hall for the first award of the night at the NHL’s annual postseason gala award show in Las Vegas.McDavid won the award for the second straight year. He also won the Hart Trophy in 2017 as the NHL’s most valuable player – but he isn’t a finalist for the Hart this season, with Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar taking the third spot alongside MacKinnon and Hall as the finalists.The 21-year-old McDavid led the NHL in scoring for his second consecutive season, earning the Art Ross Trophy with 108 points.—5:07 p.m.The NHL is handing out its postseason awards in its annual gala show from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.The show will close with the awarding of the Hart Trophy for the NHL’s most valuable player. The finalists in the wide-open race are Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar, New Jersey forward Taylor Hall and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon.—