Alex Ovechkin knows exactly where the first-round playoff series between the Capitals and the Canadiens changed.
The Washington Capitals are heading to the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after comfortably cruising past the Montreal Canadiens in five games, capping off the victory with a 4-1 win in the nation's capital on Wednesday night. The Capitals finished the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference, and they backed that up in their first-round series.
The Capitals are now moving on to the second round to take on the Carolina Hurricanes, but they will have some time to rest before that clash gets underway. Despite this series wrapping up in five games, most of the games were close and the final tally isn't reflective of how competitive it was throughout.
After Game 5, Capitals star Alex Ovechkin knew exactly where he thought that the series turned in Washington's favor, via NBC4.
“You know my answer. Game 4, 3rd period, Tom Wilson,” Ovechkin said bluntly.
Of course, the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer is referring to Tom Wilson's massive hit late in Game 4 in Montreal. With the Capitals leading the series 2-1, the Canadiens seemed poised to tie the series up, holding a 2-1 lead with inside 15 minutes to go in Game 4. The hit changed the momentum of Game 4, which the Capitals closed with a flurry to win 5-2 and come back to D.C. with a 3-1 series lead.
Up until that point, the Canadiens had all of the momentum in the series. After losing the first two games, Montreal won Game 3 back at home in dominant fashion 6-3 before taking that lead in Game 4. Instead, Wilson's hit changed the trajectory of the series, and now the Capitals will have time to rest before a tough round two test gets underway.
Ovechkin also had his fingerprints all over this series. He put the exclamation point on Game 1 with a game-winning goal in overtime to give the Capitals a 3-2 victory and set the tone for the series.
It won't be easy for the Capitals to keep moving on, as they play one of the Stanley Cup favorites in the next round just to get to the conference finals. However, they will have the best goal-scorer on the ice every time out, and that will give them a lot of confidence coming into every game.
