The Washington Capitals played through another thriller with the Montreal Canadiens in Game 2 of this first-round playoff series on Wednesday, and got the job done with a 3-1 victory. Washington now takes a 2-0 series lead for the first time since 2019.
The Canadiens struck first early in the second period thanks to Christian Dvorak tucking the puck past Logan Thompson.
The Caps scored back-to-back goals within a minute to take a 2-1 lead as Connor McMichael and Dylan Strome each scored. McMichael’s first tally was the one to tie it up early on in the middle frame, while his second was the empty-netter with 0.7 seconds left in regulation. Strome scored the go-ahead goal a minute after McMichael’s first.
Thompson also stepped up between the pipes as he stopped 25 of 26 shots. He also robbed Montreal’s Jake Evans on a wide open net in the third period to keep the Capitals up by one. The Canadiens outshot the Caps 14-5 in the final period but weren’t able to tie it up.
Other Caps who played well were Anthony Beauvillier, who recorded an assist on the Strome tally for three points in his first two playoff games for Washington, and Ryan Leonard, who picked up his first NHL playoff point with an assist on the same goal.
