Caps Claim First Win Over Habs, 3-1

Needing a win of any kind after dropping the first two games of the season for the first time in nearly a decade, the Caps came through with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night at Capital One Arena.

All of Washington's offense came in a span of just over six minutes in the second period, erasing a 1-0 Habs lead and making a winner of Darcy Kuemper, who earned his first win in a Capitals' sweater with a 21-save effort.
Caps coach Peter Laviolette changed the complexion of three of his four forward lines at Saturday's morning skate, to good effect in the game. Washington also won the special teams battle for the first time this season, killing off all three Montreal power plays without incident and getting its first power-play goal of the season.
"It was still tight out there," says Laviolette. "I'm not sure if we're just in tight games right now, or we're not generating enough, and so it was a grind. But the power play did a good job of moving pucks around. There was a lot of chances on the power play and when we scored, they moved it around really well and generated looks from all over. That was really positive to see.
"But the games have just been tight. We're playing it pretty tight, not giving up that much. I don't think we gave up probably less than 10 chances tonight, and that's the good part of it, and we'd just like to continue to pound on the offense."
For the first time this season, the Caps and their opponent played to a scoreless first frame. Washington briefly appeared to have taken a 1-0 lead on what would have been Alex Ovechkin's 781st career goal, but Montreal issued a coach's challenge and the review showed Aliaksei Protas in ahead of the play, nullifying the goal.
It was the Habs who jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 2:01 of the first period when Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki executed the wrapround and threaded a shot through Kuemper's pads.
Washington killed off a penalty in the first period and had to kill off another - a tripping call on Conor Sheary - in the front half of the second. Sixteen seconds after Sheary exited the box, he scored to even the game at 1-1 at 9:02.

Connor Brown missed the net on a shot off the rush, and Trevor van Riemsdyk kept it in at the right point, sliding it across to Nick Jensen on the left side. Jensen found some running room and activated, patiently carrying down the right side before making a perfect feed to Sheary in front for the redirection to the shelf.
"I just kind of got lost in their [defensive] zone coverage," recounts Sheary. "Jens had the puck and kind of wheeled the whole zone, and they had a couple guys that were eyeing the puck and I just snuck back door and was able to have a strong stick. And Jens made a great play."
Less than three minutes later, the Caps' newly cobbled second line gave them their first lead of the night. Kuznetsov carried into Montreal ice, and the Habs had plenty of coverage back. He slipped a pass to Oshie on the right side, but Montreal blueliner Kaiden Guhle blocked it to the corner. Kuznetsov dug it out and threw it to the front for Anthony Mantha, who scored from the bottom of the right circle at 11:43.

Soon after the Mantha goal, the Caps earned their first power play of the evening and they used it to extend their lead.
After John Carlson kept the puck in the Montreal zone at the right point, Dylan Strome issued a sublime backhand feed to Ovechkin, who let go of a wrister from the high slot, just above the circles. Oshie collected the rebound, and after his first shot was stopped, he collected it again and scored to make it a 3-1 game at 15:20, the Caps' third goal in a span of 6 minutes and 18 seconds.
"That second period, we came out stronger," says Mantha. "First period, we were kind of on our heels a little bit. We just decided to play faster, play smarter with the puck, chip it in and chip it out, and it created some chances in the [offensive] zone and it paid off."
Despite playing and losing 3-0 in Detroit the night before, the plucky Habs were competitive throughout, and they drew a third power play midway through the final frame. Again the Caps killed off the call without issue, and Washington effectively ran out the clock on the Canadiens, limiting them to single-digit shot totals in each of the game's three periods. Ovechkin hit the post on an empty-net attempt late in the game.
"For the team to feel that winning feeling, it's big going forward," says Kuemper. "It's good for morale and confidence, with the upcoming schedule here."
The upcoming schedule brings Bruce Boudreau's Vancouver Canucks here on Monday night to close out a quick two-game homestand.