Capitals Down Canadiens, 3-2 In Overtime, Take 1-0 Series Lead; Alex Ovechkin Scores Overtime Game-Winner


Photo: NHL PR

The Washington Capitals downed the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2(OT), Monday night at Capital One Arena. With the win, the Capitals take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven series. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored the opening and closing goals of the game in the victory.

LINEUP

Logan Thompson (31-6-6, 2.49 GAA, .910 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Capitals. Sam Montembeault (31-24-7, 2.82 GAA, .902 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting Canadiens. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome —Anthony Beauvillier
Connor McMichael – Pierre-Luc Dubois — Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane – Lars Eller — Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd — Taylor Raddysh

Jakob Chychrun — John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin — Matt Roy
Alex Alexeyev – Trevor van Riemsdyk

Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren

Scratches: Dylan McIlrath, Ethan Bear, Ethan Frank, Clay Stevenson.

Injured: Martin Fehervry (undisclosed), Aliaksei Protas (lower-body), Sonny Milano (upper-body), Nicklas Backstrom (hip), T.J. Oshie (back).

1ST PERIOD

The Capitals opened the scoring late in the first period with a power play goal from Alex Ovechkin (1) at 18:34 of the period. Tom Wilson (1) and Dylan Strome (1) had the helpers.

It was Ovechkin’s 73rd marker in postseason play and 29th career playoff power-play goal. With the tally, Ovechkin passes Patrick Marleau and Esa Tikkanen (72) and ties Dino Ciccarelli (73) for the 14th-most playoff goals in NHL history. He passes Evgeni Malkin and Denis Potvin (28) for the eighth-most playoff power-play goals in NHL history.

And that was it for the first frame. The Capitals led in five-on-five shot attempts, 23-13, high-danger chances, 7-1 and expected goals for, 1.i1 to 0.40.

2ND PERIOD

The Capitals made it 2-0 early in the middle frame with a rebound goal by Anthony Beauvillier (1) at 12:09. Alex Ovechkin (1) and Dylan Strome (2) had the assists.

And that was it for the middle frame. The Canadiens poured it on in the last half of the period and led in five-on-five shot attempts, 19-12.

3RD PERIOD

The Canadiens cut the Capitals lead to 2-1 with a power play goal from Cole Caufield (1) at 10:32. Patrick Laine (1) and Lane Hutson (1)had the helpers.

The Candiens tied the game with five minutes remaining in regulation. Nick Suzuki (1) notched the tying tally at 15:45. A. Carrier (1) and L. Hutson (2) had the assists.

Regulation concluded in a 2-2 tie. The Canadiens led in five-on-five shot attempts, 28-16, and expected goals for, 1.43 to 0.49 for the period.

OVERTIME

The Capitals won it in overtime. Alex Ovechkin provided the winner.

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.





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