Ovechkin has 3 points, lifts Capitals past Canadiens

WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin had a goal and two assists for the Washington Capitals in a 6-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Capital One Arena on Thursday.

Ovechkin has three goals in his past two games to bring his career total to 858; he needs 37 to pass Wayne Gretzky (894) for first on the NHL’s all-time goals list.

“He’s been awesome,” linemate Aliaksei Protas said. “The way he celebrates, you feel like it’s his first NHL goal when you know he’s chasing one of the unreal records. You see the look in his eyes, just feels happy to be there, celebrating like a kid. It’s special. That’s what makes him an unbelievable player and scorer, that’s for sure. That’s how hungry he is to score.”

Protas and Tom Wilson each had a goal and an assist for the Capitals (7-2-0), who have won five straight home games. Trevor van Riemsdyk and Dylan Strome each had two assists, and Charlie Lindgren made 12 saves.

“I think we’re a real solid team right now,” Wilson said. “Guys are excited for the guy next to him. They’re pulling for the guy next to him. It’s fun when they’re going in. Just coming together as a real solid team. It can be anybody on any given night, and it seems like it’s clicking well.”

Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist, and Cole Caufield scored in his fourth straight game for the Canadiens (4-6-1). Lane Hutson had two assists, and Cayden Primeau made 28 saves.

"We're going through some things right now, and the frustrating thing is it's repeating mistakes by all of us,” Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said. “As individuals, I think we need to be more accountable toward the team. Once again, we're sitting here disappointed. We lost a game we felt like we handed it to them.”

Connor McMichael gave the Capitals a 4-3 lead at 4:21 of the third period when he tucked in the rebound of van Riemsdyk’s point shot.

Protas made it 5-3 just 36 seconds later. He received a cross-ice pass from Ovechkin, drove to the net and scored when his shot deflected in off Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble’s stick.

"It was the next shift we got scored on [again],” Suzuki said. “That's been a trend lately, and that's got to stop. You can't give up two goals back-to-back like that."

Ovechkin pushed it to 6-3 at 12:27 when he scored from the left post off a pass from Protas.

“In between the second and third, we had a very blunt conversation about what needed to change for us to get two points because it wasn’t very clean tonight,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “But the third period, right from the first shift, I knew. Our guys were like ‘OK, we’re going to find a way to win his game and we’re going to lock it down and we’re going to get back to our style of play.”

Wilson gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 3:21 of the second period, deflecting Ovechkin’s shot past Primeau on a power play.

Caufield tied it 1-1 at 9:52 with a power-play goal, picking up a loose puck in the neutral zone, skating up ice and scoring with a wrist shot from the right circle.

Gallagher gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead at 10:31, deflecting Hutson’s shot from the point past Lindgren.

Brandon Duhaime responded to tie it 2-2 at 11:45 when he controlled a loose puck and scored with a wrist shot through traffic from the top of the right circle.

Jakub Vrana put Washington ahead 3-2 at 12:39, scoring on a one-timer from the slot, but Suzuki tied it 3-3 at 18:00 with a one-timer from the left circle off a cross-ice pass from David Savard.

“Our start showed that we were patient and disciplined,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “We’re in a good spot going into the third and you just throw up all over yourself.”

NOTES: Duhaime scored his first goal for Washington after signing as a free agent on July 1. … The Capitals had gone 22 power plays without scoring before Wilson’s goal. … McMichael has recorded nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past seven games. … Caufield has six goals in his past six games. … Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle played 21:31 and had four hits in his return after missing five games because of an upper-body injury.