Alexander Ovechkin failed to score for the first time in five matches. But even without his help, Washington managed to come back from 0:2 and win. At the same time, the Russian tried his best to extend his scoring streak and even spent a record amount of time on the ice for this season.

Team form

Washington and Montreal have already met this season. At the end of November, the Capitals won a big victory on the road (8:4), mocking the opponent’s defense. So the Canadiens players clearly had enough motivation for revenge before the return away match. And given the teams’ form, the Habs had a good chance of getting what they wanted.

In the last 10 matches, Montreal won seven victories, and Washington won four in the same period. Due to the lack of stability, the Capitals risk saying goodbye to their place in the playoff zone in the near future. A victory over the Canadiens, one of their main competitors, would help them stay in the top eight and strengthen their position a little.

The duel between Russian forwards Alexander Ovechkin and Ivan Demidov also promised to be interesting. Ovechkin came into the match on a four-game scoring streak, and in the last game Demidov scored an assist hat-trick for the first time in his career. The last time the Washington captain emerged victorious from the confrontation: Ovechkin scored three goals and an assist.

Strong-willed victory

Midway through the first period, the Capitals had a great opportunity to open the scoring when they got their first power play of the match. However, the guests not only survived in the minority, but also scored. During a turnover, Ryan Leonard threw an inaccurate pass to the blue line that was intercepted by Josh Anderson. Then the Canadiens forward ran into a counterattack, organizing a 2-on-1. Anderson did not share the puck with his partner, but took the game upon himself and threw it into the open corner – 1:0.

After the break, Montreal increased their lead to two goals. This time, the Habs excelled at even strength. Zachary Bolduc delivered the puck from behind the net, and Brendan Gallagher hit Logan Thompson with a one-touch shot. As a result, in the first 40 minutes of the meeting, Washington failed to reduce the gap, and the teams went into the second break with the score 2:0 in favor of the guests.

Everything was heading towards the fact that the Capitals would suffer another defeat. However, at the beginning of the third period, the hosts finally opened up Samuel Montembeault’s goal: Matt Roy skated into a killer position and threw, the puck hit Ethan Frank and bounced into the goal – 1:2.

For the remainder of the game, Montreal managed to maintain a minimal advantage. Only in the 59th minute did Washington replace the goalkeeper with a sixth field player and equalize. Playing with an empty goal, the hosts carried out a successful positional attack: Rasmus Sandin crossed strongly, and Frank substituted his stick and sent the puck into the net with one touch, scoring a double.

As a result, the game went into overtime, where the Capitals won. 39 seconds before the siren, Connor McMichael made a successful finishing move after Dylan Strome’s shot – 3:2. Washington, of course, won and slightly strengthened its position in the East standings, but the team needs a long successful streak.

As for Ovechkin, for the first time in five matches he did not score goals or points. At the same time, he made four shots and spent a record time on the court this season – 24:45.