Washington found the finish it had been chasing, turning a tied game into a 5-4 win over Montreal on Wednesday at Capital One Arena. Justin Holl broke the deadlock in the third period and Alex Tuch added his second goal of the night 4:36 later as the Capitals stopped a two-game skid.
The Capitals are 4-3-0 after seven games, while Montreal sits at 3-3-1. Both clubs are still sorting out their early-season identity, but Washington’s final 20 minutes offered a useful template after a roster overhaul and last season’s playoff miss.
Quick facts
- Washington beat Montreal 5-4 after entering the third period tied 3-3.
- Alex Tuch scored twice; Jordan Kyrou had a goal and an assist for the Capitals.
- Josh Anderson scored two goals for Montreal, while Lane Hutson posted a goal and an assist against brother Cole Hutson.
- Holl scored in his second straight game after being recalled Monday.
- Washington hosts the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET in game two of a five-game homestand.
Holl’s wrist shot from the right point put Washington ahead 4-3 at 12:29 of the third. The puck got through traffic, slipping past an Alex Ovechkin tip attempt and an Ilya Protas screen before catching Jakub Dobes on the left arm and going in.
Tuch then buried from the slot at 17:05 to stretch the lead to two. Montreal captain Nick Suzuki scored with the Canadiens skating 6-on-4 with 1:39 remaining, but Washington closed out the one-goal game.
“I thought in the third period we really dialed it in,” Kyrou said. “We all made the simple plays, and each line was just going out there and doing their job and that’s how we won the game.”
Tuch and Kyrou arrived in Washington’s offseason retool, each bringing three previous 30-goal seasons. On this night, they centered their work around Dylan Strome on a reshaped top line, especially important with Pierre-Luc Dubois out because of illness.
Dubois has missed the last four games and normally handles major assignments as Washington’s top-line center. His injury-limited 29-game season was a major factor in the Capitals missing the playoffs a year ago.
“I think sky is the limit for this team,” Tuch said. “We’ve got a really talented group. It just comes to hard work and determination now.”
Washington is also without defensemen Matt Roy, who has a lower-body injury, and Rasmus Sandin, who is recovering from ACL surgery. Holl was summoned Monday to help cover the blue-line shortage, and his goal Wednesday followed a score in his previous game.
Montreal had its own bright spots, including Anderson’s two goals and Lane Hutson’s first meeting with his younger brother, Capitals defenseman Cole Hutson. The Canadiens reached last season’s Eastern Conference Final before losing to eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina, but carrying that level into a new season has been uneven.
Anderson’s goal made it 2-1 Montreal before Tuch scored shorthanded on a 2-on-1 at 6:16 of the second period, putting Washington up 3-2. The Canadiens later tied it again before the Capitals took over in the third.
Montreal’s special teams remain a concern. Its power play is 3-for-23, or 13 percent, and it surrendered Tuch’s shorthanded goal. The penalty kill also allowed what amounted to two Washington power-play strikes in the first period: Kyrou tied the game 1-1 two seconds after a penalty expired at 7:56, and Ivan Miroshnichenko’s pass went in off Anderson at 19:34 to make it 2-2.
“I thought we played a good road game tonight,” Anderson said. “Obviously, tough couple of bounces, but overall, we’re still trying to work on things — the little details in our game that are going to allow us to come out of this.”
Suzuki said Montreal believes its five-on-five game is trending in the right direction. “What we’re trying to do every game is keep building as a group,” he said. “I think it’s slowly gotten better and better. Five-on-five has been a big topic, and I thought we’ve improved. So, if special teams goes our way a little bit more, I think we could move on.”
The Canadiens are dealing with a shortened lineup. Forwards Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen are out with lower-body injuries, as are defenseman Mike Matheson; defenseman Florian Xhekaj is sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
Dobes has also hit a rough patch in net. The goaltender, one of Montreal’s key playoff performers last spring, is 1-2-1 with a 4.63 goals-against average and an .841 save percentage, and has allowed five or more goals in each of his last three starts since opening the season with a 3-2 win against Toronto.
Jacob Fowler has steadied the other side of Montreal’s crease at 2-1-0, with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.
“I feel like, overall, we’re playing some pretty good hockey,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “I think we’re struggling at getting rewarded for the work I think we’re putting in, but it’s OK. We are where we are. We’re going to keep pushing.”
For Washington, Saturday’s home date with New Jersey is the next chance to show that Wednesday’s third period was more than one good stretch. The Capitals want that direct, detail-heavy game to travel with them through injuries, lineup changes and the rest of the five-game homestand.
“If we’re going to be a good team in this league and a team that competes with the best teams in the League, we’re going to have to find a way to make sure that consistently our game looks like that,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “Home, road, guys out with injury, it doesn’t matter.”
