Fifteen days after toppling Wayne Gretzky from the peak of the NHL’s career goals ledger, Caps captain Alex Ovechkin came through with a pair of massive goals on Monday to help the Caps to a 3-2 overtime victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the best-of-seven first round set between the two teams.
Playing Stanley Cup playoff overtime hockey for the 48th time in his NHL career, Ovechkin notched his first career playoff overtime game-winner on the Caps' second shot of the extra session, at 2:26. Ovechkin also scored the first goal of the game on a Washington power play in the first, and Monday’s victory ended a seven-game postseason losing streak for the Capitals. The triumph is the first playoff victory of Spencer Carbery’s NHL coaching career.
Most importantly, Ovechkin’s goal enabled the Caps to escape with a playoff rarity: a cheap lesson. They were in overtime because they let a 2-0 lead slip away in the back half of the third period.
“He made a couple of big plays for us tonight, was physical, set the tone,” says Carbery of Ovechkin. “First period, he was leading the charge and dragging guys into the fight.”
The game-winner came after Montreal iced the puck and Dylan Strome won the ensuing left dot face-off win in the offensive zone. Anthony Beauvillier – who scored Washington’s second goal of the game in the middle period – squeezed off a shot that Habs goalie Sam Montembeault steered aside, but Beauvillier quickly retrieved it from below the goal line and put it to the front. From the top of the paint, Ovechkin batted it home for a Game 1 victory.
The goal came six seconds after the face-off.
“The goal, it’s a goal,” shrugs Ovechkin. “It doesn’t matter in the playoffs – and especially in OT – who scores. I think it gives you confidence.”
Washington’s first period performance dispelled any notion that their late season struggles might extend into the postseason. The Caps were sharp right off the hop, generating offensive zone time, asserting physicality, testing the Canadiens, and getting the crowd into the game. Eleven different Caps were credited with hits in the first frame as Washington led 20-14 in that department.
After killing off a Montreal power play in the first, the Caps jumped in front when Ovechkin struck on Washington’s first man advantage of the game.
With a pristine entry – Strome to Tom Wilson along the right wing wall – the Caps gained the zone cleanly after a Montreal clear. Wilson went laterally to Ovechkin just above the left circle, and the captain whipped a shot past Montembeault at 18:34 of the first for a 1-0 Washington lead.
“I had so much time with the puck,” recounts Wilson, “and I looked up and he got into that ice, that same ice that's pretty dangerous, if I can get the puck to him. When I see him get some space, you just want to put it on his tape; he can score from anywhere. Heck of a shot.”
Making his first appearance since sustaining an upper body injury in an April 2 game in Raleigh, Caps netminder Logan Thompson was also sharp. His biggest stop of the first came in the final minute when he denied Nick Suzuki’s right dot shot with a blocker save.
“It’s good; it was fun,” says Thompson of his 33-save night in his return to action. “I missed being in the room and being around. I missed a decent chunk of time, and it’s tough not being around. But being back with the guys in the room and putting the jersey on was my favorite part of today.”
Montreal was able to generate more offensive zone time in the second, and Montembeault kept his team within a goal with an excellent stop on Andrew Mangiapane, who was thwarted after taking a slick feed from Ryan Leonard just ahead of the midpoint of the middle period.
Shortly after that midpoint, the Caps doubled their lead on the Beauvillier goal.
Beauvillier gained the zone on the right side and snapped off a shot that missed the net. But he stuck close to Habs defenseman Lane Hutson, blunting the blueliner’s backhand exit try. That enabled Strome to grab it on the left half wall and push it to the left point for Ovechkin. He put a shot toward the net, and Beauvillier tipped it on net. Montembeault stopped it, but Beauvillier swatted the rebound home to put the Caps up 2-0 at 12:09.
“I’m just trying to hit the puck there,” says Beauvillier. “I’m trying to give myself a chance.”
The Caps were in decent shape early in the third, holding a 2-0 advantage and outshooting Montreal 6-2 in the frame as the midpoint approached. The Habs went on a power play just after the midpoint of the third, and less than 30 seconds later, they were on the board when Patrik Laine’s shot pass banked off Matt Roy’s skate and into the slot where Cole Caufield found and quickly buried it to make it a 2-1 contest at 10:32.
The Canadiens came to life in the aftermath of the Caufield goal, and Suzuki was able to square the score on a chaotic goalmouth scramble with 4:15 left in regulation.
The Habs looked overwhelmed at times in the first, but they weathered the storm and caught up to the pace as the game progressed.
“[It was] a start that we knew we were probably going to have to weather the storm,” says Montreal coach Martin St. Louis, “and really feel what that feels like, the pressure, the physicality, the pace of the game. But I felt like we caught up to it, and we started executing more. We spent more time in the [offensive] zone. I felt we got better as the game went on.”
Washington’s first period was one of its best in recent weeks, but a period that good at this time of the year is difficult to sustain. Perhaps the Caps’ biggest failing in regulation was in not being able to finish on several strong chances in the game’s 50 minutes, and Montembeault deserves a lot of credit for that. He made 29 saves in his Stanley Cup playoff debut.
“I thought we started to overcomplicate it a little bit; we got away from it,” says Carbery of the Caps’ wobbly third period. “And you’ve got to give [the Canadiens] credit; they pushed, they’re down, we know it’s coming. I didn’t like how we handled it.
“And it’s a good learning experience for us, for some of our younger guys that are going through this. You can change momentum; it’s such a fine line. Two or three plays, and the next thing you know [it’s tied].”
Did the Caps get away with a cheap lesson in the playoffs on Monday?
“Yeah, I think so,” says Wilson. “We have the outcome that we want; we got the win. And we learned some stuff through it.
“Everything goes into the journey, and where you want to end up. And I think tonight shows that if you play passive in the playoffs, teams are too good. They’re going to make plays, and we’ve got to keep our foot down.”
NOTES: Ovechkin became the fourth-oldest player to score a playoff overtime game-winner, behind Igor Larionov, Ray Whitney and Steve Thomas … Late in the third period, Caps defenseman Alex Alexeyev caught Jake Evans’ stick right in the mouth on a follow through. “Significant dental work required,” is Carbery’s postgame description of what’s in store for Alexeyev, who looked sharp in his 14:02 of work on the night. He blocked three shots and was credited with a couple of hits as well.
