Capitals defeat Canadiens without Alex Ovechkin
Despite their superstar sitting out for skipping the NHL All Star Game festivities, the Washington Capitals picked up right where they left off.
The Washington Capitals won their fourth straight game despite having Alex Ovechkin suspended by the NHL for skipping the All Star Game.
Braden Holtby got the start in goal and rebounded with a 31 save performance for a .939 save percentage en route to a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on the road.
The Canadiens struck first with a goal from Jeff Petry 1:55 into the game but the Caps would answer with three unanswered goals to take command in the game.
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It helped that they would get a power play opportunity when Max Domi went off for slashing Evgeny Kuznetsov at 17:28.
The Caps cashed in with Tom Wilson going hard in the paint in front of the net and burying a backhanded pass from Jakub Vrana, who was positioned behind the net at 18:30. It was Wilson’s 15th goal of the season. T.J. Oshie had the secondary assist. 1-1 was the score after the first 20 minutes with the Caps having the edge in shots 13-9.
At 2:03 in the second period, the Capitals took the lead with Travis Boyd after his chip shot from the front of the net deflected off of Petry’s left skate. It was Boyd’s third goal of the year and Lars Eller and Brendan Leipsic were credited with the helpers.
The Caps added to their lead after Kuznetsov forced a turnover and laid a backhanded pass to Oshie. The puck deflected off Oshie’s stick to Vrana. Vrana buried it for his 23rd goal of the season and eighth goal in his last nine games. The Caps took a 3-1 lead into the dressing room for the second intermission, outshooting the Canadiens 15-9.
In the third the Canadiens got a goal back at 7:30 thanks to Dale Weise before the Caps put it away at 19:37 with a backhanded empty net goal from Nicklas Backstrom for his 10th of the season. Carl Hagelin and Wilson had the assists.
Ovechkin returns to the ice and resumes his quest for 700 goals on Wednesday night when the Caps host the Nashville Predators. For a team that has gone 15-14-2 throughout his career with him out of the lineup, it’ll be a welcome sign having their captain back.
light. Hot. Alex Ovechkin's road to 700 goals
Vrana told the media after the game (via NHL.com’s Sean Farrell):
"“Obviously it’s a big goal-scoring loss for us, but we stick together as a team. We still kept creating chances today, especially the fourth line. I felt like they had lots of chances, they played really good, and that was a great team win.”"