The Washington Capitals continue to prove why they’re one of the best teams in the NHL right now, as they took care of the visiting Montreal Canadiens 6-3 at home on Halloween.
It was a big night for Washington as five players on the team finished with two or more points, including Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, Aliaksei Protas, Dylan Strome, and Trevor van Riemsdyk.
After a scoreless first period, the Capitals got on the board first in the middle frame on a Wilson power play goal, which ended a drought of 22 consecutive man advantage opportunities without a goal.
However, the Canadiens were able to keep up and take a 2-1 lead with tallies by Cole Caulfield (on the power play) and Brendan Gallagher. Both goals were scored within 39 seconds.
Washington responded with back-to-back goals in under a minute as well, as Brandon Duhaime and Jakub Vrana scored within 54 seconds of each other. This was Duhaime’s first goal as a Capital.
With the score tied at 3-3 early in the third period, the Capitals scored back-to-back goals in under a minute again as Connor McMichael and Protas added tallies in 36 seconds to make it 5-3.
The sixth and final goal was scored by Ovechkin for his fifth goal of the season and No. 858 of his career. He also had two assists in the contest.
In addition to a goal and an assist, Wilson dropped the gloves with Montreal’s Josh Anderson late in the game, giving him his first career Gordie Howe hat trick.
