Capitals Down Canadiens, 4-3; T.J. Oshie Scores 300th Career Goal, Sonny Milano Scores In Return, Aliaksei Protas Scores First Goal In 29 Games


Photo: X/@Capitals

The Washington Capitals downed the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The victory improves the Capitals record to 24-21-8 (56 points) on the season.

The Capitals opened the scoring on Anthony Mantha’s 17th goal of the season less than four minutes into the contest and added a T.J. Oshie power play goal, his 300th career tally, for a 2-1 lead at the first intermission.

The Canadiens tied the game in the middle frame, but the Capitals reclaimed the lead early in the third period with a goal from Sonny Milano, in his first game back after being out for two months with an upper body injury.

The Canadiens tied the game with a power play goal midway through the final frame, but the Capitals answered with  goal from Aliaksei Protas, his first goal in 29 games, to make it 4-3, the final.

LINEUP

Darcy Kuemper (11-12-3, 3.17 GAA, .894 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the visiting Capitals. Jake Allen (5-10-3, 3.63 GAA, .895 sv% ) got the start in goal for the Canadiens. The forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas – Connor McMichael – Anthony Mantha
Max Pacioretty – Mike Sgarbossa – Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn – Nic Dowd – Tom Wilson

Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin – Nick Jensen
Joel Edmundson – Trevor van Riemsdyk

Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren

Scratches: Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Alex Alexeyev, Ethan Bear, Nicklas Backstrom (hip).

1ST PERIOD

The Capitals opened the scoring on a close-range shot by Anthony Mantha (17) just 3:40 into the contest. Aliaksei Protas (17) and Nick Jensen (8) had the assists.

Martin Fehervary left the game with a lower body injury just four minutes into the game and did not return.

The Capitals early lead was short lived. Arber Xhekaj tied the game with a blast from the left point at 5:04 of the first period.

But the Capitals quickly restored their lead with a power play goal from T.J. Oshie (10) at 10:00 of the first frame. Dylan Strome (16) and Alex Ovechkin (24) had the helpers. It was Oshie’s 300th career goal.

The Capitals held the 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Shot attempts were tied 20-20 in the first frame.

2ND PERIOD

The Canadiens tied the game late in the middle frame on a rebound tally by Alex Newhook (x) at 16:15 of the middle frame.

And that was it for the middle frame. The Capitals led in five-on-five shot attempts, 25-18 in the second period.

3RD PERIOD

The Capitals regained the lead with goal from Sonny Milano (5) early in the third period. Max Pacioretty (8) and Joel Edmundson (3) had the assists.

The Canadiens answered with a power play goal from Nick Suzuki (20) at 9:45 of the third period.

But the capitals answered. Aliaksei Protas (4) gave the Capitals a 4-3 lead at 11:57 of the final frame. Nic Dowd (8) annd Anthony Mantha (11) had the helpers. The goal ended a 29-game goalless drought for Protas.

The Canadiens had a six-on-four late in the final period, but the Capitals were able to shut the door.


SHAVINGS

  • Ovechkin has recorded a point in 10-straight games vs. Montreal dating back to dating to Nov. 15, 2019 (7g-7a–14p).
  • T.J. Oshie scored his 300th career goal to put the Capitals ahead 2-1. Since joining Washington ahead of the 2015-16 season, Oshie (190g) ranks second on the Capitals in goals, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (361g).

By Jon Sorensen

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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