First period
- Cole Caufield had a good chance in the opening seconds, but couldn’t get it through.
- Caufield blocks a shot and turns it into a breakaway, and he’s not going to miss a second scoring opportunity.
- Despite Montreal having a lead, the crowd at the Bell Centre is pretty quiet. Maybe they’re waiting to see how they play while up a goal.
- Noah Dobson takes a couple of punches from Brandon Duhaime after an icing call, but those seem to be allowed tonight.
- I guess two is the limit because he gets sent off for doing the same thing at the opposite end after the whistle.
- Dobson almost made it 2-0 on the play, but his slapshot went into the body of Charlie Lindgren in the centre of the crease.
- They just aren’t treating power plays like great chances to score the past couple of games. Some individual rushes, a few lackadaisical passes from both units, and not much that could be called a scoring chance.
- Mike Matheson gets beat by Duhaime as he comes out of the box, and the defenceman will take a turn in the penalty box.
- Alexander Ovechkin winds up and blasts the puck off the crossbar. He tries again, but Jakub Dobeš makes the stop.
- The Capitals’ power play was much more dangerous, but Dobeš allowed them to survive.
- I suppose the crowd has its answer to how the Habs will play with the lead. Shots are 8-3 for Washington and Montreal hasn’t had one since midway through the power play.
- Caufield finally adds one to the counter, and it requires a great glove save from Lindgren.
- The Capitals’ next one creates a rebound, and Ovechkin is standing there to pound the puck in and tie the game.
- Caufield is by far Montreal’s best player in this game, and he now has two goals on three shots, a very similar play to the one Ovechkin just scored on.
- Another incredible glove save denies Caufield of a first-period hat trick.
- A very strange period in which the Canadiens were outplayed in terms of possession time and yet probably should have scored four goals. The chances they are getting are of extremely high quality, and Lindgren is the only reason why the Capitals are still in this.
Second period
- The fourth line is having some issues tonight, and was on the ice for two quick shots in the opening minute of the second period.
- Now the Capitals are up to five shots two minutes in.
- Suzuki gets sent in on a breakaway, but Lindgren makes another big save. That’s eight shots, and six high-danger chances.
- It looks like Suzuki’s shot broke the seal, because Montreal added a couple more on the next shift for Juraj Slafkovský’s line.
- The referee allows Ryan Leonard to take down Kaiden Guhle to open up some space for the Capitals, but he doesn’t let him get away with ripping Guhle’s helmet off as he gets back up. Somehow the coaching staff needs to get the message across of how important this power play is.
- Well they come out firing at least. Both Suzuki and Ivan Demidov get early chances.
- The top unit works hard and doesn’t get rewarded, but the second wave is too much for the Capitals to handle. Zachary Bolduc and Alex Newhook work the puck in the zone and get it to Mike Matheson, who is free to glide into the slot and send the puck past the glove of Lindgren.
- Suzuki moves down the wing on a zone entry and gets it to Kirby Dach in the slot. Dach slings a one-timer that goes past Lindgren’s ear and under the bar to make it 4-1.
- On the play, Wilson was knocked off-balance and fell hard on his knee. He hobbles off to the bench.
- I predicted that four goals would be enough to win this game. We’ll find out over the next 23 minutes if that is true.
- Brendan Gallagher tries to create an odd-man rush by knocking Declan Chisholm’s stick out of the way, but it flies away from the Capitals’ defenceman, and Gallagher will get a two-minute rest.
- It was a big period for the Canadiens’ offence as they doubled their goal total, but if not for the heroics of Dobeš in the opening minutes the score would look very different right now.
Third period
- I didn’t think this was a wave crowd when the game started in an almost silent Bell Centre, but everyone’s feeling good with the opening couple of minutes survived in the third period and the Habs up by three.
- Dach has a strong shift to keep Montreal cycling in the offensive zone, using his body to shield the puck. If he can take on the role Slafkovský used to on that line, it should have a lot of success. He ends the shift in a shoving match in front of the net, and both he and Nic Dowd go off.
- Montreal allows a mini breakaway to Connor McMichael on a misplay at the offensive blue line, but Dobeš is again there to save the day.
- Suzuki gets tripped in the offensive zone with no call. Dobson taps the leg of Pierre-Luc Dubois in Montreal’s zone and that one is a penalty. Amazing how the score of a game can determine what is a penalty and what isn’t.
- Dobson doesn’t see Ovechkin lurking behind him, and the best all-time goal-scorer adds his second of the game.
- It looks like the Capitals have decided to take out their frustrations on Suzuki now.
- McMichael tries to take away Demidov as an option on a three-on-two,and will sit for holding. It prevented a fifth goal against, but Montreal has a chance to only delay it as they head to a power play.
- They create a couple of chances, but the score remains 4-2 with four-and-a-half minutes to play.
- Ovechkin goes back to pick up a puck with his net empty, but Suzuki beats him there. Ovechkin pins the Habs captain, but not his stick, and Suzuki flicks a blind backhand from the boards into the net.
- Alexandre Carrier goes off for holding the stick, giving the Capitals a sliver of life.
- Jake Evans throws himself at an Ovechkin one-timer, to loud applause from the crowd. Evans ends the shift by sending the puck the length of the ice for a 6-2 lead.
- The Canadiens extend their lead over the Capitals, the first team-in-waiting in the wild-card race, to six points. They also improve their season goal differential to +15 as they move back into third place in the Atlantic.
- The Habs will now enjoy two days off before beginning the annual trip through California. That begins on Tuesday night in San Jose.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) Much more fun than watching them grind for two goals
2) You have to think it’s only a matter of time
1) Let’s hope he doesn’t burn through all his wishes too quickly
