POSTGAME NOTEBOOK - Caps 8, Habs 4

Rebound - In the two seasons in which Peter Laviolette has been behind their bench, the Capitals have displayed an ability to bounce back from lopsided losses. On Saturday night in Montreal, the Caps rebounded from a 7-3 loss to Toronto on Thursday, doubling up the Canadiens by an 8-4 score.

Both Anthony Mantha (two goals, two assists) and Dmitry Orlov (one goal, three assists) each had a four-point game to pace the Washington attack. For Mantha, it was the sixth game with four or more points in his NHL career, and for Orlov it was the first.
Mantha's two goals both came at 4-on-4, and they were scored 34 seconds apart in the middle of the second period, snapping a 1-1 tie.
"A lot of open ice," says Mantha of the 4-on-4 situation. "Obviously there are plays to be made, and on both of my goals Lars [Eller] just chipped the puck and battled to get the puck to me and gave me basically two breakaways. For me, it was just to shoot the puck."
Mantha's first goal gave the Capitals the lead for good.
Montreal had the better of the offensive zone time in the first, but it was the Caps who came out of the period with a one-goal lead on a Nic Dowd goal, courtesy of helpers from Orlov and Mantha.
Following Mantha's two goals in the second, Alex Ovechkin joined the scoring party with his 47th goal of the season, and Washington carried a 4-2 lead into the third period. The Caps scored four times in the third, getting even strength goals from Garnet Hathaway and Orlov, and power-play goals from Justin Schultz and T.J. Oshie.
Mantha's two goals in 34 seconds are the fastest two tallies by a Capital this season, erasing Evgeny Kuznetsov's two goals in 43 seconds against the Canucks in Vancouver on March 11. In 20 games played since returning from shoudler surgery, Mantha has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists).
With Saturday's win in Montreal, the Capitals are now 14-4-1 in games immediately following losses by three or more goals since the start of the 2020-21 season.
I've Returned - Orlov missed the two previous games with a lower body injury, but he made his impact felt immediately upon returning. His four-point night on Saturday vaulted him to 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) on the season, surpassing his previous career best of 33 points established in 2016-17.
"It was nice to be back," says Orlov, "especially [because] we won the game after a big loss against Toronto. I think everybody was ready to go tonight; it means a lot and it's a huge win. We have three games left on this road trip, I think we need to build on that game and be better at 4-on-4.
"The last two games we have a lot of opportunities. I think with the puck we played good, and we need to figure out things without [the puck] and don't give up a lot of chances."
The Great Eight Update - Ovechkin's goal on Saturday night was his 47th of the season, moving him to within one of Teemu Selanne's NHL record for most goals in a season by a player aged 36 or older. Selanne scored 48 goals for Anaheim at the age of 36 in 2006-07.
Habs goaltender Samuel Montembeault yielded Ovechkin's Saturday night marker, making him the 159th different goaltender the Caps' captain has scored against over the course of his NHL career.
Ovechkin is now fourth all-time on the list of goaltending victims, trailing only Jaromir Jagr, (178), Patrick Marleau (177), and Mark Messier (164). Marleau ranks first in League history in games played while Jagr ranks third and Messier places fourth. Ovechkin, who played in his 1,270th NHL game on Saturday night in Montreal, ranks 81st all-time in games played.
Fifty Mission Cap -With his assist on Ovechkin's goal, Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov notched his 50th assist of the season. It's the fourth time in his career that Kuznetsov has reached the half century mark in helpers, and he is the sixth player in franchise history to have as many as four seasons with 50 or more assists. Kuznetsov established his career high of 57 assists in 2015-16, his second full season in the NHL.
Century City - Dowd's first-period goal was his 10th of the season, leaving him one shy of his career-high of 11, established last season. Dowd hit the 100-point plateau (45 goals, 55 assists) with that goal against the Habs.
Sawbuck -With his power-play goal late in the third period of Saturday's game, T. J. Oshie notched his 10th tally of the season. He becomes the 10th different Caps skater to reach double-digit goal totals this season, joining Dowd, who did so earlier in the game.
With seven games remaining in the regular season, the Caps have a number of players who have a reasonable chance of joining the double-digit club. Mantha and Connor McMichael both have nine goals, Martin Fehervary has eight, and Johan Larsson and Marcus Johansson each have seven.
Six Pack - Caps defenseman John Carlson collected an assist in Saturday's game, extending his point and assist streak to six straight games. He has four goals and eight assists over the life of the streak, which is his longest of the season.
The 400 Club - Caps defenseman Nick Jensen played in his 400th career game on Saturday against the Habs. Now in his fourth season with the Capitals, Jensen has played just over half (210) of his career games in a Washington sweater.
By The Numbers -Carlson led the Capitals with 23:56 in ice time … Mantha and Oshie led the Caps with five shots on net each … Jensen and Ovechkin each had 10 shot attempts to lead the Capitals … Hathaway led the Caps with six hits while Oshie, Tom Wilson and Martin Fehervary each had five … Carlson led the Caps with three blocked shots.