The Washington Capitals wrapped up their Canadian doubleheader against the Montreal Canadiens after beating the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night. Montreal has been better of late, winning their last two games before Saturday’s contest.
Alex Newhook was given way too much time and put Montreal up 1-0 in the first. Cole Caufield then got credited with a goal after Newhook looked like he deflected his second of the night in. Pierre-Luc Dubois grabbed a goal in his home province to get Washington back in the game.
Tom Wilson tied the game in the third with a jam play at the side of the net and then put the Capitals in front after a great feed from Dubois. Dylan Strome pumped home a power-play goal to extend the lead.
Capitals beat Canadiens 4-2!
- I wasn’t too upset with the first period despite the 2-0 deficit. Montreal got oodles of puck luck and the Capitals got none. I think you’d want to see Logan Thompson stop both goals. I’m still confused about how Cole Caufield got credited with that second one. Am I the only one who sees it blatantly go off Newhook?
- Tom Wilson took a Jakob Chychrun shot up high and was left bloodied by the puck. He immediately raced back to Washington’s locker room and didn’t return until the game was already 2-0 in favor of Montreal.
- The Lehigh Valley Phantoms held their Teddy Bear Toss against the Hershey Bears tonight. I think that should be illegal and they should at least be condemned for blasphemy.
- Masterclass of a second period from the Canadiens. The Capitals could not get out of their own zone for a good eight-minute stretch in the period as Montreal’s forecheck was set up perfectly and their defensemen made good contact on seemingly every single pinch up the boards. Washington needed to be perfect with their passing and they sure weren’t.
- Good to see Pierre-Luc Dubois rewarded for his recent play. If the hockey gods were just, he’d have about another eight goals coming in the next few games. He was incredible again in this game.
- Your update on Tom Wilson’s face is that he kinda looks like a dog when they eat a bee and get stung in the mouth.
- I said during the second intermission in our Discord that I was expecting line changes to start the third period. We definitely got those. The biggest was Lars Eller moving to Dylan Strome’s wing and Hendrix Lapierre put back down the middle on the third line.
- Logan Thompson made FOUR different breakaway saves in the third period alone. Unreal. What’s up, Team Canada? Goalies obviously “win” games all the time, but Thompson WON this game. Capitalized letters all intended.
- Huge goal from swollen-faced Tom Wilson to get the game tied and then an even bigger one to give the Capitals their first lead of the game. He’s in double digits (11) now this season.
- Dylan Strome missed a wide-open net but then made up for it with an absolutely nasty snipe. Not his best night but he still found a way to make a big difference.
The Capitals will now have four full Alex Ovechkin healing days before they play next. They’ll visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday next week.
