Alex Ovechkin scored two goals as the Washington Capitals put away the plucky Montreal Canadiens 6–3 on Wednesday. Washington now takes a stranglehold on the series 3–1 with Game 5 back in Washington on Friday.
Backup Caps goalie Semyon Varlamov came up with another brilliant performance, most notably in the second period where he stopped 20 of 21 shots.
“He just kept us in the game,” said Ovechkin in an interview with RDS.
The Caps were able to withstand Montreal’s onslaught and then nail them when it hurts most.
The Canadiens were leading 2–1 when Mike Knuble scored a shorthanded goal with seven seconds left to play in the second period. Boyd Gordon brought the puck up the ice on a two-on-one and fed a nice pass to Knuble.
“That shorthanded goal was key for us. Boyd Gordon made the play,” said Ovechkin. That was the turning point of the game.
The Caps got the breakthrough mid-way through the third period when Ovechkin scored his second of the game.
With the score tied 2–2, Alexander Semin, who has done nothing in three games, weaved his way up the ice, holding off defenders before finding Ovechkin. Then, Ovechkin, as he’s done so many times, cut in to the slot and fired a wrist shot past Carey Price.
The back-breaker came less than a minute later when Jason Chimera stuffed home a loose puck after Matt Bradley’s wrap-around got away from Price.
Price took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after letting in the goal.
The final score was not indicative of how the game was played. For the first two periods, the Canadiens were better than the Capitals, outshooting them 33–18. The Caps scored two empty-net goals when the Canadiens had to go for broke.
Knuble got the first of them. The big veteran has been an important addition to the Capitals, playing on the first line with Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.
Washington once again proved its superiority over Montreal. They finally scored on the power play as well.
“We have to give credit to them,” said Montreal coach Jacques Martin. “One error in the second [period] let them back in. Another error in the third gave them another goal. Those were costly errors.”
The Canadiens gave the best they had for the first 40 minutes but still could not hold the lead, despite the fervent support of the Bell Center fans.
It will be important for the Caps to close out the series in five games, given that Philadelphia and Pittsburgh could wrap up their series Thursday.
Backup Caps goalie Semyon Varlamov came up with another brilliant performance, most notably in the second period where he stopped 20 of 21 shots.
“He just kept us in the game,” said Ovechkin in an interview with RDS.
The Caps were able to withstand Montreal’s onslaught and then nail them when it hurts most.
The Canadiens were leading 2–1 when Mike Knuble scored a shorthanded goal with seven seconds left to play in the second period. Boyd Gordon brought the puck up the ice on a two-on-one and fed a nice pass to Knuble.
“That shorthanded goal was key for us. Boyd Gordon made the play,” said Ovechkin. That was the turning point of the game.
The Caps got the breakthrough mid-way through the third period when Ovechkin scored his second of the game.
With the score tied 2–2, Alexander Semin, who has done nothing in three games, weaved his way up the ice, holding off defenders before finding Ovechkin. Then, Ovechkin, as he’s done so many times, cut in to the slot and fired a wrist shot past Carey Price.
The back-breaker came less than a minute later when Jason Chimera stuffed home a loose puck after Matt Bradley’s wrap-around got away from Price.
Price took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after letting in the goal.
The final score was not indicative of how the game was played. For the first two periods, the Canadiens were better than the Capitals, outshooting them 33–18. The Caps scored two empty-net goals when the Canadiens had to go for broke.
Knuble got the first of them. The big veteran has been an important addition to the Capitals, playing on the first line with Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.
Washington once again proved its superiority over Montreal. They finally scored on the power play as well.
“We have to give credit to them,” said Montreal coach Jacques Martin. “One error in the second [period] let them back in. Another error in the third gave them another goal. Those were costly errors.”
The Canadiens gave the best they had for the first 40 minutes but still could not hold the lead, despite the fervent support of the Bell Center fans.
It will be important for the Caps to close out the series in five games, given that Philadelphia and Pittsburgh could wrap up their series Thursday.
