Washington Capitals (9-7-3 21pts) v. Montreal Canadiens (11-6-3 25pts)
Lineups:
Washington Capitals:
Alex Ovechkin — Lars Eller — Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — Andre Burakovsky
Chandler Stephenson — Travis Boyd — Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Brett Connolly
Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson
Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen
Christian Djoos — Madison Bowey
Pheonix Copley
Braden Holtby
Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler
Injured: Evgeny Kuznetsov (upper body), Brooks Orpik (lower body), T.J. Oshie (upper body)
Montreal Canadiens:
Tomas Tatar — Phillip Danault — Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin — Max Domi — Andrew Shaw
Kenny Agostino — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Artturi Lehkonen
Nicolas Deslauriers — Matthew Peca — Charles Hudon
Jordie Benn — Jeff Petry
David Schlemko — Noah Juulsen
Mike Reilly — Victor Mete
Carey Price
Antti Niemi
Scratched: Karl Alzner, Xavier Ouellet
Injured: Shea Weber (knee), Joel Armia (lower body), Paul Byron (lower body), Nikita Scherbak (lower body)
First Period:
Canadiens Goal – 9:20 – Mike Reilly (2) from Matthew Peca (5)
Capitals Goal – 13:16 – Brett Connolly (3) from John Carlson (15)
Capitals Goal – 14:40 – Alex Ovechkin (14) from Tom Wilson (3) and Dmitry Orlov (5)
Canadiens Penalty – 17:34 – Kenny Agostino 2 minutes for Roughing
Capitals Penalty – 17:34 – Matt Niskanen 4 minutes for Roughing (2 minutes served by Andre Burakovsky)
End of 1st – WAS – 2 MON – 1
Shots 08 16
Faceoffs 17 13
Hits 08 08
PP 0/0 0/1
Analysis:
Capitals (Michael) – The Capitals started a little shaky, but as it seemed the Capitals were settling in the Canadiens would get the first goal of the game and then take over on the shot counter. However, after the Canadiens took the 1-0 lead the Capitals would score two goals on three shots to take the 2-1 lead going into the 2nd period.
Canadiens (Armand) – The Canadiens once again got off to a fast start once again and hold the Capitals to 8 shots. Despite being down 2-1 the Canadiens played a very strong first period
Need to Do:
Capitals (Michael) – The Capitals need to do a much better job of neutralizing the Canadiens speed. Also the Capitals were even with the Canadiens in shots until the Canadiens scored and then they doubled up the Capitals 18-8. The Capitals will need to cut down the number of shooting chances for the Canadiens, and generate more for themselves.
Canadiens (Armand) – The Canadiens need to stop giving up high quality chances in front. Powerplay looks solid even though they couldn’t score. The Canadiens need to continue to get pucks on net moving forward.
Second Period:
Canadiens Goal – :20 – Brendan Gallagher (10) from Phillip Danault (11) and Jeff Petry (15)
Capitals Penalty – :52 – Madison Bowey 2 minutes for Interference
Canadiens PPG – 1:08 – Jeff Petry (2) from Jesperi Kotkaniemi (8) and Max Domi (15)
Canadiens Goal – 1:35 – Kenny Agostino (1) from Arturi Lehkonen (9) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (9)
Capitals Penalty – 6:35 – Lars Eller 4 minutes for High Sticking
Capitals Goal – 13:20 – Nicklas Backstrom (6) from Christian Djoos (3) and Madison Bowey (3)
Canadiens Penalty – 18:48 – Max Domi 5 minute major for Fighting
Capitals Penalty – 18:48 – Dmitry Orlov 5 minute major for Fighting
Canadiens Penalty – 19:10 – Phillip Danault 2 minutes for Slashing
End of 2nd – WAS – 3 MON – 4
Shots 19 34
Faceoffs 29 23
Hits 18 15
PP 0/0* 1/4 *1st PP in Progress
Analysis:
Capitals (Michael) – This was not a great period for the Capitals. They gave up 3 goals in the first 1:35 and were dominated for the most part by the Canadiens. The second half of the period was better, but still not good enough.
Canadiens (Armand) – Great bounce back period from the Canadiens and getting three goals in a 1:35 to jump to a 4-2 lead. Physical period but the Canadiens played solid all around and are on pace to have a solid third period.
Need to Do:
Capitals (Michael) – The Capitals need to play smart and stay out of the penalty box. The game is not going their way and they can’t let the Canadiens get under their skin. The Capitals need to flip the script and take it to the Canadiens and force them to take some penalties to get the Capitals powerplay on the ice for some opportunities.
Canadiens (Armand) – The Canadiens need to keep up the pace. Don’t take stupid penalties and play their game. The Canadiens have also lost Noah Juulsen for the rest of the game.
Third Period:
Canadiens Penalty – :52 – Jordie Benn 2 minutes for Tripping
Capitals PPG – 1:02 – Alex Ovechkin (15) from John Carlson (16) and Tom Wilson (4)
End of 3rd – WAS – 4 MON – 4
Shots 33 41
Faceoffs 37 33
Hits 27 20
PP 1/2 1/4
OT:
Capitals Goal – 3:34 – Lars Eller (4) from Jakub Vrana (5) and Michal Kempny (3)
End of OT – WAS – 5 MON – 4
Shots 33 41
Faceoffs 38 36
Hits 27 20
PP 1/2 1/4
Analysis:
Capitals (Michael) – In a very up and down game for the Capitals, they were able to end this 4 game road trip with a 3-1 record and that is despite losing both TJ Oshie and Engeny Kuznetsov to injury and also not having Braden Holtby for the majority of this trip as well. The Capitals hands down had their best period in the third period, and were able to claw back after giving up 3 goals in the 2nd period, The Capitals return home on Wednesday to take on the struggling Chicago Blackhawks.
Canadiens (Armand) – The Canadiens played a solid game. Carey Price was strong all night. Braden Holtby has had the Canadiens number in the past which killed them tonight. The puck just bounced the wrong way at the end of the game.
Next Up:
Washington (10-7-3 23pts) v. Chicago (8-8-5 21pts)
Montreal (11-6-4 26pts) @ New Jersey (8-9-2 18pts)
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