Alex Ovechkin had three assists as the Washington Capitals recorded a 6-3 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
Nic Dowd, Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Carlson, and Dmitry Orlov each had a goal and an assist for the Capitals. Michael Sgarbossa and Tom Wilson contributed Washington’s other goals.
Jake Evans and Artturi Lehkonen each had a goal and an assist for Montreal. Cole Caulfield also scored for the Canadiens.
Washington is 7-1-1 over its last nine games.
The Canadiens dropped to 5-14-2 this season, and have been outscored 70-24 over their 16 losses. The Habs have yet to win consecutive games this season.
While Ovechkin is known best for his scoring, the forward’s passing has been on display early this season. Ovechkin has 18 assists (along with 15 goals) through 20 games, already matching his assist total from last season.
Ovechkin now has 1,353 career NHL points, tying him with Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur for 27th on the all-time points list.
Dowd, Carlson, and Sgarbossa scored during a dominant first period for Washington. The Capitals outpaced the Canadiens by a 16-5 margin in shots on goal and a whopping 32-8 margin in shot attempts.
Carlson scored on Washington’s lone power-play chance. Over the Canadiens’ last three games, opponents have scored on four of five power plays against the struggling Habs’ penalty-kill unit.
At 14:31 of the first period, Montreal defenseman Alexander Romanov accidentally redirected the puck into his own net. Sgarbossa received official credit, giving the forward his first NHL goal since Jan. 23, 2017 as a member of the Florida Panthers.
Ilya Samsonov stopped 25 of 28 shots for the victory, and the Capitals’ goaltender has yet to suffer a regulation loss (7-0-1). Evans’ goal ended Samsonov’s shutout streak at 170:13, the longest of any NHL goalie this season.
Jake Allen stopped 28 of 34 shots. Allen was back in action after missing the Canadiens’ last four games due to a concussion.
Capitals defenseman Justin Schultz didn’t return to the ice after suffering an upper-body injury in the first period.
–FieldLevelMedia