Washington 8, Montreal 4
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 16, 2022
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Referees:
Tom Chmielewski, Corey Syvret
Linesmen:
Steve Barton, Caleb Apperson
Attendance:
21105
By Field Level Media
Anthony Mantha scored twice in a 34-second stretch in the second period and added two assists to lift the visiting Washington Capitals to an 8-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Defenseman Dmitry Orlov secured a career-high four-point performance (one goal, three assists) in his return from a lower-body injury for Washington, which improved to 17-1-2 in its last 20 trips to Montreal.
Nic Dowd collected a goal and an assist, captain Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Garnet Hathaway and defenseman Justin Schultz also tallied and Vitek Vanecek made 28 saves for the Capitals (42-23-10, 94 points).
A winner of five of its last six contests, Washington moved within three points of third-place Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division with two games in hand. The Penguins dropped a 2-1 decision to the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon.
Ryan Poehling scored twice and Jake Evans and Nick Suzuki also tallied for the Canadiens (20-45-11, 51 points), who have lost five in a row.
Mantha tapped home a loose puck following his own shot to give Washington a 2-1 lead at 8:03 of the second period. He didn't wait long to double the advantage, converting on a breakaway for his ninth goal of the season.
Poehling halved the deficit just 14 seconds later, however, Ovechkin answered from the slot with 4:24 remaining in the period. Ovechkin's goal was his team-leading 47th of the season, one shy of Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne for the most by a player aged 36 or older in NHL history.
Poehling trimmed the Capitals' lead to 4-3 at 2:22 of the third period, however Hathaway backhanded the puck between the pads of Sam Montembeault (33 saves) just 46 seconds later. Orlov tallied at 4:30 to send Washington on its way.
The Capitals drew first blood after Dowd deflected Orlov's shot with 7:37 remaining in the first period. Dowd's goal was his 10th of the season and second in as many games.
The Canadiens leveled the contest 1:56 into the second period after Evans unleashed a blast from the right circle that sailed past Vanecek.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Washington |
|
Montreal |
Anthony Mantha 4 |
Points |
Ryan Poehling 2 |
Anthony Mantha 2 |
Goals |
Ryan Poehling 2 |
Dmitry Orlov 3 |
Assists |
Jeff Petry 2 |
T.J. Oshie 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Vitek Vanecek .875 |
Save Percentage |
Sam Montembeault .805 |
Vitek Vanecek 28 |
Saves |
Sam Montembeault 33 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Washington
|
41 |
8 |
2-6 |
2-2 |
8 |
33 |
Montreal
|
32 |
4 |
0-2 |
4-6 |
16 |
42 |
Upcoming Games
-
Montreal will play their next game at home against Minnesota. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .278 after a loss.
-
Washington will play their next game on the road against Colorado. The Capitals have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .636 after a loss.