The Washington Capitals downed the Montreal Canadiens, 5-2 Thursday night at Bell Centre in Montreal. The victory improves the Capitals record to 26-14-9 (61 points) on the season.
The Capitals opened the scoring with a pair of goals 20 seconds apart. First, Herndon, Virginia, native Joe Snively recorded his first career NHL goal five minutes into the contest and Connor McMichael answered less than a minute later for a 2-o lead at the first intermission.
Carl Hagelin extended the Capitals lead to 3-0 before the Canadiens finally got on the scoreboard to make it 3-1. Joe Snively would pot his second tally of the game to restore the three-goal lead but the Canadiens would answer late for a 4-2 score at the second intermission.
The Capitals would add an empty net goal from Tom Wilson for the 5-2 final.
STATS
STARTERS
Ilya Samsonov (14-6-0-3, 2.89 GAA, .902 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the visiting Capitals. Cayden Primeau (1-6-0-1, 4.62 GAA, .874 sv%) got the start in goal for the Canadiens. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:
Scratched: Aliaksei Protas
COVID-19 Protocol: Michal Kempny
Injured: T.J. Oshie (lower-body), Anthony Mantha (shoulder).
FIRST PERIOD
The Capitals opened the scoring early in the first stanza with a goal from Joe Snively (1) at 5:04 of the period. Justin Schultz (10) had the lone assist. It was Snively’s first career NHL goal.
Snively opened the scoring with a SNIPE! 💨 pic.twitter.com/8m6mQE0igl
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) February 11, 2022
Just 20 seconds later Connor McMichael (7) stretched the Capitals lead to 2-0. Lars Eller (14) and Trevor van Riemsdyk (12) had the helpers.
20 seconds later and McMichael made it 2-0!! 😎 pic.twitter.com/BfNI1RCGyF
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) February 11, 2022
The first period concluded with the Capitals leading 2-0. Shot attempts were tied 13-13 in the first frame.
SECOND PERIOD
The Capitals made it 3-0 early in the middle frame on a sharp-angle snipe from Carl Hagelin (3) at 3:40 of the second period. Martin Fehervary (6) and John Carlson (27) had the helpers.
Gotta See It: No angle? No problem.
What a shot by Carl Hagelin! 👏
Presented by @Charmin | #EnjoyTheGo pic.twitter.com/gYTDOnCGFX
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 11, 2022
But the Canadiens would quickly answer. Rem Pitlick (9) made it 3-1 just 29 seconds later. Josh Anderson (8) and Kale Clague (6) had the assists.
Rem Pitlick marque son neuvième but de la saison.
Ninth goal this season for Rem Pitlick.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ij7Aygc9eF
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 11, 2022
Joe Snively would answer with his second goal in as many periods, to restore the three-goal lead. Snively made a nice move and sniped for the Capitals fourth goal. Evgeny Kuznetsov (32) and Justin Schultz (11) had the helpers.
Snively doubles his career tally with a BEAUT: pic.twitter.com/FbpBiJdxCP
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) February 11, 2022
The Canadiens would cut the lead to two with a goal from Cole Caufield (2) at 15:58 of the middle frame. Nick Suzuki (19) and Tyler Toffoli (17) had the assists.
TO THE ROOF 🙌
Now that’s a backhand beauty from Cole Caufield! pic.twitter.com/MzIzG7Z7Uc
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 11, 2022
The period would conclude with the Capitals holding on to the 4-2 lead. The Canadiens out-attempted the Capitals +16 shots since the 14-minute mark of the first period.
THIRD PERIOD
The Canadiens and Capitals skated to a scoreless draw for most of the final frame. Tom Wilson would add an empty net goal for the 5-2 final.
The Canadiens led in shot attempts, 49-28, scoring chances 24-18, high-danger chances 10-4 and expected goals 2.46 to 1.31.
The Capitals are back in action on Sunday when they host the Ottawa Senators at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is set for 12:30 PM.
SHAVINGS
- Joe Snively recorded his first and second career NHL goals.
- He becomes the third Virginian to score a goal in the NHL and the first forward from Virginia to score a goal.
- Justin Schultz picked up the lone assist on Snively’s goal. Schultz now has four assists in his last five games and is two assists shy of 200 career assists.
- Carl Hagelin scores to give the Caps a 3-0 lead. Hagelin now has four points (1g, 3a) in his last four games.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov picked up an assist on Snively’s goal. He now has 19 points (7g, 12a) in his last 20 games.
- Justin Schultz added his second assist of the game tonight on Snively’s second goal. He’s now one assist shy of 200 career assists.
By Jon Sorensen