Jeff Petry beat Braden Holtby with a low shot after taking a drop-pass from Alex Galchenyuk. Petry’s second goal in 2 games put the Habs in the driver seat, after having limited the Capitals offense to so little in the first period.
The lead would be maintained for almost ten minutes. It was Joel Ward who then tied the game for the Caps with a fast wrist shot between the glove and pad on Carey Price. The goal came on the Capitals’ 18th shot attempt and 7th shot of the game. The Caps turned the momentum around the 8 minute mark of the second period, climbing in puck possession, exceeding their entire first period shot attempt output in the span of four minutes eight and twelve minute mark of the second period. The pressure got to the Canadiens, who took two penalties. Alex Ovechkin got room to make a play on the wing and snapped his 51st of the year past Carey Price, becoming the highest scoring player in Capitals history on the goal with his 473rd goal in the Capitals’ uniform in the midst of his 756th game. 39 seconds later, another Habs defenseman would beat Braden Holtby with a laser beam shot – Tom Gilbert, chin-shield and all. Lars Eller would score a late goal with 1:21 to go in the period, scoring his 2nd goal in the last 3, 3rd point in the last 3.
The second period saw both teams trading stretches of possession, with the Habs ending the period with the momentum in hand, and up 3-2.
Scoring Summary
| 1ST PERIOD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NONE | ||||
| 2ND PERIOD | ||||
| 00:58 | MTL | Jeff Petry (6) Wrist shot – ASST: Alex Galchenyuk (24), P.K. Subban (41) | 1 – 0 MTL | |
| 10:36 | WSH | Joel Ward (18) Wrist shot – ASST: Marcus Johansson (26) | 1 – 1 Tie | |
| 14:08 | WSH | PPG – Alex Ovechkin (51) Wrist shot – ASST: John Carlson (38), Braden Holtby (2) | 2 – 1 WSH | |
| 14:47 | MTL | Tom Gilbert (4) Wrist shot – ASST: Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (13), Alex Galchenyuk(25) | 2 – 2 Tie | |
| 18:39 | MTL | Lars Eller (13) Wrist shot – ASST: Dale Weise (19), P.K. Subban (42) | 3 – 2 MTL | |
Penalty Summary
| 1ST PERIOD | ||
|---|---|---|
| 10:48 | WSH | Brooks Laich Slashing – 2 min against Nathan Beaulieu |
| 18:57 | WSH | Brooks Orpik Holding – 2 min against David Desharnais |
| 2ND PERIOD | ||
| 11:42 | MTL | Brandon Prust Hooking – 2 min against Mike Green |
| 13:18 | MTL | Max Pacioretty Hooking – 2 min against Evgeny Kuznetsov |
Shots
| PERIOD | WSH | MTL |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2 | 6 |
| 2nd | 9 | 7 |
| Total | 11 | 13 |
Team Stats
| CATEGORY | WSH | MTL |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 1/2 | 0/2 |
| Hits | 24 | 13 |
| Faceoff Wins | 22 | 20 |
| Giveaways | 9 | 7 |
| Takeaways | 2 | 3 |
| Blocked Shots | 20 | 12 |
| Penalty Minutes | 4 | 4 |
