Wilson scores twice in 3rd, helps Capitals rally past Canadiens

MONTREAL -- Tom Wilson scored two straight goals in the third period to help the Washington Capitals rally for a 4-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and an assist, and Logan Thompson made 22 saves for Washington (19-6-2), which is 6-0-1 in its past seven.

“I think we just had to stick with it,” Wilson said. “They’re opportunistic on their end. They come down and they get a lot of odd-man rushes. ‘Thommer’ held us in there and then slowly we just turned the tide, got our legs under us and started making some good plays. I thought we played a really good third period and didn’t really give them much of a chance.”

The Capitals’ ninth consecutive road win extended their franchise-record streak.

“It’s a really fun group,” Wilson said. “We enjoy coming together and bearing down and finding ways to gut out these tough wins. So, it’s a great group in here, I’ve been saying that all year and we’re just having fun playing for the guy next to us.”

Wilson, who had a gash on his swollen left cheek, left the game briefly in the first period after a slap shot by Washington defenseman Jakob Chychrun was redirected and struck him in the face.

“He came back to the bench looking a little bigger than normal,” Capitals forward Dylan Strome said. “But the guy’s a warrior, there’s nothing else to say. Warrior and got it done, found a way. We all said after he got hit, we all knew he was scoring, it was just a matter of when, and then he got two.”

Cole Caufield had a goal and an assist, and Sam Montembeault made 31 saves for Montreal (10-14-3), which had won consecutive games but has yet to win three straight this season.

“We had a great start,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. “I thought our game overall was really tight all game. They’re a good team, and I think if we capitalize on our scoring chances, we’d get a better result. It’s a two-goal lead, we let them back in and didn’t win the third period, and it’s a tough one to swallow right now.”

Dubois scored 33 seconds into the second period to cut it to 2-1, one-timing a slap shot from the right point past Montembeault’s glove.

Wilson tied it 2-2 at 7:10 of the third, putting in a rebound from a sharp angle to the right side of the net off Aliaksei Protas’ backhanded shot.

Wilson then put Washington up 3-2 at 11:48. He beat Montembeault with a snap shot from between the circles off a touch pass from Dubois after Protas intercepted David Savard’s pass from the right corner.

“Honestly, when it hits you, I feel like the side of my face is falling off a little,” Wilson said of the puck to the face. “I’m like, ‘Am I bleeding? Am I cut?’ And then you just get in the room and you kind of settle down. … I was told growing up, if you’re good to play, you play. And I did a couple of tests and I was good enough to get back out there, and it was a fun win.”

Strome scored a power-play goal for the 4-2 final at 13:49.

Alex Newhook gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 11:09 of the first. With Caufield rushing the puck up the right side, Newhook crossed the blue line as a trailer and took a drop pass before scoring on a wrist shot that went into the net off Thompson’s glove.

Caufield made it 2-0 at 16:00 with a snap shot from the left circle after forcing a turnover in the offensive zone.

Forward Brendan Gallagher and Suzuki had two of Montreal’s four breakaway opportunities in the third.

“Obviously they’re a good team, they have their record for a reason,” Gallagher said. “They were going to continue to work but we had so many chances to extend our lead, and once they tied it, take the lead back, and just couldn’t capitalize on it. And that’s the really frustrating part.”

NOTES: Washington’s third-period comeback win was its third this season. Only the Philadelphia Flyers (six), Calgary Flames (four) and Vegas Golden Knights (four) have had more. … Canadiens rookie defenseman Lane Hutson had an assist on Newhook’s goal to extend his point streak to six games (seven assists), tying the Montreal record for a rookie defenseman with Glen Harmon (Jan. 9-19, 1943) and Chris Chelios, who had two six-game point streaks in 1984-85.