It was a New Year's Eve tilt for the Habs and Caps.
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Jake Allen got the start for the Habs, while Charles Lindgren, a former member of the Canadiens organization, defended the home side's net.
It only took 32 seconds for the Caps to find the back of the net, courtesy of Erik Gustafsson, another former Hab.
Garnet Hathaway doubled their lead a few minutes later to make it 2-0. The Caps maintained that lead heading into the first period intermission. The Habs led 13-9 in shots.
Less than five minutes into the second stanza, Cole Caufield scored his 20th goal of the season on a 4-on-3 power play. Stationed in the left faceoff circle, the winger accepted a brilliant pass from Nick Suzuki to slap the puck into a practically open net. Kirby Dach earned a secondary assist on the play.
Video: MTL@WSH: Caufield fires a one-timer in for a PPG
Unfortunately for the Habs, Nick Dowd and Alex Ovechkin had other plans, scoring goals numbers three and four for the home side.
The Canadiens continued to push, and Caufield forced a turnover after intercepting a pass in the neutral zone from Lars Eller. No. 22 grabbed the puck and skated down the wing before scoring a wrister to bring the score to 4-2. The goal was unassisted.
Video: MTL@WSH: Caufield fires in shot on a rush for second
Before the end of the frame, Peter Laviolette's squad cushioned their lead with a marker from Dylan Strome on the man-advantage after defenseman Chris Wideman took a holding penalty.
After 40 minutes, the shots were 25-22 in favor of the Habs.
Back for the third, the Caps benefitted from another 5-on-4 when Suzuki was sent to the box for tripping. Ovechkin scored his 25th goal of the season.
Marcus Johansson added insult to injury with a seventh goal for the Caps to make it 7-2.
The Caps added an eighth goal and Ovie completed the hat trick. The final score was 9-2.
The Canadiens will wrap up their road trip on January 3 with a stop in Nashville to take on the Predators at 8:00 p.m. ET.
