Saturday night’s game at Montreal’s Bell Centre did not result in the Caps collecting a pair of points, but their 3-2 overtime loss to the Canadiens featured some positive elements they believe they can build on. For the fourth straight game, the Caps fell down by a pair of goals. And for the second time in four games, they were able to square the score and force overtime, this time doing so much later in the game and amid a tangle of adversity. But Cole Caufield’s goal in the first minute of overtime landed the swing point in the Canadiens’ column.
Midway through the third, the Caps were still down 2-0, and despite spending a large chunk of the final frame on the penalty kill – they faced down a pair of 5-on-3 advantages, the second of which was initially more than a minute in length – they battled back on a pair of Dylan Strome goals to force overtime.
“I thought we did take some positive steps tonight,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “Big picture-wise, all three periods, I would say, especially the third period, we are really, really struggling to finish and score goals right now. So for us to fight back there, kill a ton of penalties – a 5-on-3, a lengthy 5-on-3 – and then still with seven minutes or whatever it was left when we get back to 5-on-5, to push for that equalizer. As we continue to find our polish offensively and being able to finish opportunities and finish plays for that matter – not just scoring chances, but finish plays – I like the character and the battle back.”
More so than any of its previous games this season, the Caps were able to put offensive heat on the Habs, but Montreal goaltender Jake Allen was superb, stopping 31 of 33 shots and carrying a shutout into the back half of the third period.
Washington had a pair of power play opportunities in the first period. The first one produced a single shot on net – an Alex Ovechkin shot from his office – and two other attempts that were blocked.
On the second opportunity, the Caps were able to pour four shots on Allen, the last three of which came off three different sticks in short succession and from in tight. But Washington wasn’t able to light the lamp and take its first lead of the season.
With about three minutes left in the first, the Caps forced a Sean Monahan turnover at their blueline that resulted in a 2-on-1 rush with Ovechkin carrying down the right side with Anthony Mantha available on his left. The Caps’ captain delivered a sublime saucer feed over a sprawling defender, but Allen thwarted Mantha with a right pad stop.
Later in the same shift, Ovechkin was whistled for a slashing minor, giving the Habs a late power play. Montreal needed only 27 seconds and one shot with which to cash in; Monahan converted a Nick Suzuki feed for a tap-in from the top of the paint, giving Montreal a 1-0 lead at 18:28.
“In the first period, we had plenty of chances to score,” says Ovechkin. “I think their goalie played unbelievable tonight.”
Montreal put some offensive-zone heat on the Caps early in the second, but Darcy Kuemper and the Caps withstood the pressure. Washington skaters combined to block 10 shots in the first period, and they combined for four more in the first five minutes or so of the second.
Midway through the middle period, Montreal was able to come 200 feet to double its lead. The Caps put the puck deep behind the Canadiens’ cage, but Washington was unable to mount a forecheck. A couple of well-executed passes led to a Montreal zone exit, and Monahan carried deep down the right side, angling wide initially and then carving toward the net as he approached the goal line. At that point, he fed it to the front for Brendan Gallagher, who scored from the top of the paint at 9:50 to make it a 2-0 contest.
Allen’s mastery of the Caps continued through the second. He robbed Nicklas Backstrom’s rush try – off another fine feed from Ovechkin – and then stopped Backstrom from in tight seconds later on a delayed penalty. On the fourth Washington power play – a carryover advantage that stretched into the first minute of the third – Allen denied Mantha from just outside the paint, preserving the Habs’ two-goal cushion into the final period.
Washington’s penalty woes began in the early minutes of the third, stretching into the back half of the period. The Caps were whistled for five minors in a span of 10 minutes and 2 seconds of playing time, resulting in over six minutes of 5-on-4 time, 54 seconds of 5-on-3 time and 32 seconds of 4-on-3 time for the Habs in the third. But Kuemper and the Caps were up to the task, and after the fourth of those minors was snuffed out, Ovechkin and Strome combined to solve Allen with a goal on the forecheck.
Ovechkin laid a hit on Habs’ defenseman Mike Matheson deep in Montreal ice, forcing a turnover. Matthew Phillips collected and gave it back to Ovechkin, who spotted Strome lurking on the weak side. Ovechkin made yet another strong feed and Strome made sure to elevate it, but Allen had no chance on this one. The Caps were finally on the board with 8:25 remaining.
After completing the last penalty kill, the Caps went back to work. Evgeny Kuznetsov carried through neutral ice and into the Montreal end, curling around the back of the net and threading a feed back to the opposite side of the net where Strome struck again, tying the game at 2-2 with exactly two minutes left. The goal was scored just as Kuemper got to the bench for an extra attacker, and it goes into the books as a 6-on-5 goal.
“I think you saw a little bit more of our character come out tonight,” says Kuemper. “To be down 2-0 going into the third and then have the penalty trouble we did, but then just sticking with it, it was really nice to see. I think it was really positive for our group to battle through that adversity, and to be able to come back and tie the game. Unfortunately, you don't get two points, but definitely a step in the right direction for how we want to play.”
In overtime, Montreal won the opening draw and Caufield scored on the only shot by either team, a shot off the rush from the left dot.
“Obviously, it’s nice to get a point,” says Strome. “We’re having a tough time scoring goals right now, and we felt good on the bench in the third period, and everyone was digging in deep and we just had that feeling that we were going to come back. It shows a lot about this team.”
