Capitals defeat Canadiens, pad lead for first in Metropolitan

MONTREAL -- Nicklas Backstrom had four assists, and the Washington Capitals increased their lead atop the Metropolitan Division with a 6-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday.

WATCH: [All Capitals vs. Canadiens highlights]
Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson each scored two goals for the Capitals, who have won three games in a row.
"I thought [Backstrom] was the best player on the ice tonight," Washington coach Barry Trotz said. "He could have had six assists. He was trying to make plays and trying to set up a couple of guys, being unselfish."
The Capitals (44-24-7), who are 7-1-0 in their past eight games, are five points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for first place in the Metropolitan and six ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Charles Hudon scored two goals for Montreal, which is 2-8-2 in its past 12 games. Carey Price allowed six goals on 30 shots.

The Canadiens (27-37-12) have been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention.
"We keep talking about building toward something and we're just going to keep working toward it," said Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher, who scored late in the third period. "And eventually there will be improvements and that's only going to come from hard work."
Kuznetsov, who missed the previous three games because of an upper-body injury, tied it 1-1 at 11:11 of the first period with his first of two power-play goals.
Wilson gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 14:49.
Backstrom got his third straight assist when he set up Wilson's second goal to make it 3-1 at 18:11.
"It was a great start to the game, but ultimately they had a pretty good second half of the first period and we didn't recover from it," Price said.
Jay Beagle put the Capitals ahead 4-1 at 4:52 of the second period. Hudon scored with 1.3 seconds remaining in the period to make it 4-2.

Backstrom got his fourth assist when Kuznetsov scored at 1:10 of the third period to make it 5-2.
"It's tough to watch hockey from upstairs, and it's so good to get back on the ice and even better when you win," Kuznetsov said.
Jakub Jerabek made it 6-2 at 4:52 with his first goal in seven games since being traded to Washington by Montreal on Feb. 21.
Hudon made it 6-3 with his second goal of the night at 9:28, and Gallagher scored on the power play with 1:57 remaining to make it 6-4.
Alex Galchenyuk gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 8:35 of the first period.
Gallagher, who played his 400th NHL game, appeared to score at 9:38, but Washington coach Barry Trotz challenged for offside, and the goal was overturned after video review showed Jonathan Drouin entered the zone ahead of the puck at 9:25.
Philipp Grubauer, who has started seven of nine games for the Capitals, made 17 saves.

Goal of the game

Kuznetsov's goal at 1:10 of the third period.

Save of the game

Grubauer stopping Daniel Carr at 5:08 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Wilson's goal at 18:11 of the first period.

They said it

"I thought we worked well tonight. I thought maybe we had a rough start. It felt like maybe it turned around after their second goal there that we challenged. It was nice to get back in the game and obviously it was a good win."-- Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom
"You've got to be careful with teams like that. They're playing good hockey and guys are playing for jobs, and it's a tough time of year when you're going from playoff opponents to teams that are out." -- Capitals forward Tom Wilson
"It's pretty disappointing to give up that many goals at home, and you can't blame the goalie (Carey Price) on any of them. I think there's obviously too many power-play opportunities, too many shots from the slot, and that's just something we need to get a lot better at." -- Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher

Need to know

The Capitals are 13-0-2 in 15 games in Montreal since Nov. 28, 2009, the longest road point streak in their history. … It was Backstrom's 11th four-assist game in the NHL, the most among active players. ... Of the 20 four-point games in the NHL this season, Backstrom has two of them (Oct. 13 at the New Jersey Devils).

What's next

Capitals: At the New York Rangers on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)
Canadiens: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, FS-D+, NHL.TV)