Caps one game away from eliminating the Canadiens

Logan Thompson was surprisingly in front of the Caps net.

No Aliaksei Protas, though.

The first period was scoreless, but Dylan Strome broke the ice early in the second.

Bad goal by Jakub Dobes…

At one point in the second, the CH found themselves 5-on-3 for 44 seconds.

But thanks in part to Mike Matheson, Montreal managed to kill off both penalties, and suddenly the momentum shifted.

The home team also took advantage of a power play, and unlike the Caps, they made the most of it. Ivan Demidov’s first elimination point was just that.

Lane Hutson also picked up an assist on Juraj Slafkovsky’s goal.

He’s the oldest player ever to get a point on net. He’s 21 years old…

No defenseman in history has as many assists as the young defenseman in a single season (playoffs included).

After two periods, Montreal had just 9 shots on goal, six of them in 34 minutes, but still managed to beat Logan Thompson one more time before the end of the period.

Again on the power play, Cole Caufield scored his third goal of the series. Hutson and Demidov picked up their second assists of the game on the sequence.

For Hutson, that’s already five assists since the start of the playoffs.

I don’t think Patrik Laine will be back on the first wave of the power play anytime soon…

In the third period, however, the Caps tied the game. After Tom Wilson laid a big check on Alexandre Carrier, who didn’t finish the game, Brandon Duhaime took advantage and found the back of the net.

Carrier was stunned.

The game seemed headed for overtime, but with just over three minutes to go, Andrew Mangiapane foiled Dobes with a veiled shot.

Final score: 5-2 Washington, which leads the series 3-2. Duhaime and Tom Wilson scored the insurance goals in an empty net.

Spencer Carbery’s team can eliminate the CH on Wednesday at home.

Montreal will have to win the next three games against the best team in the East to stay alive.

Extension

– Let’s hope Alex Ovechkin follows the CH’s account on X.

– It’s crazy.

– A nice visit.

– He did quite a job in PK.

– He still has the CH in his heart.