Niemi gets first win for Canadiens in victory against Capitals

WASHINGTON -- Antti Niemi got his first win for the Montreal Canadiens, making 24 saves in a 3-2 victory against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Friday.
Niemi, making his third start since being claimed off waivers Nov. 14, is 1-1-1. The Canadiens are his third team this season after being let go by the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Florida Panthers.

WATCH: [All Canadiens vs. Capitals highlights]
"Huge for me. First of the season, first win with this team," Niemi said. "It's been a long time since my last one. This is a special game, special win."
Max Pacioretty scored two goals and had an assist, and Paul Byron had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens (19-21-6), who ended a three-game losing streak (0-1-2). Pacioretty has six goals in his past six games.

Montreal, frustrated after a 4-1 loss against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, was intent on quickly putting that game behind it.
"It was a much better game. If we look at the big picture, I'd say we've played five of the last six really, really good games," Pacioretty said. "We're really upset when we don't show up against Boston. But that's a great way to respond as a group."
With the Capitals playing 6-on-5 after goalie Philipp Grubauer was pulled for an extra skater, Pacioretty scored on a backhand on a delayed penalty with 1:18 remaining in the third period to give Montreal a 3-1 lead.
Lars Eller brought the Capitals within 3-2 with 54 seconds remaining.

Byron had put the Canadiens ahead 2-1 at 10:41 of the third. A point shot by Jakub Jerabek caromed off the boards, clicked the skate of Pacioretty and deflected in front to Byron, who beat Grubauer.
The Capitals (28-15-4) have lost two straight after returning from their five-day break on Thursday, and two in a row at home for the first time since Oct. 17-21.
"I don't think we had any business winning that game," Grubauer said.
Washington hasn't taken more than 28 shots in each of its past four games and was held to 26 by Montreal.
"They outworked us. They outbattled us," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "Our goaltender kept it close, gave us a chance to get a point. We had too many guys still on vacation. We had too much cheat and not enough compete."
John Carlson scored his sixth goal, and Grubauer made 23 saves for Washington. Alex Ovechkin got the 499th assist of his NHL career.

Pacioretty scored at 7:08 of the second period with Tom Wilson in the penalty box for hooking for a 1-0 lead. Jonathan Drouin and Brendan Gallagher each had an assist.
Carlson tied it 1-1 at 13:24 with a power-play goal.
Carey Price had started 21 of the past 22 games for Montreal, but Niemi, who last played Dec. 23, performed when called upon. His pad save on a wide-open Wilson at 1:52 of the third period kept the game tied at 1-1.
"A goaltender who works hard every day in practice, has a great attitude," Canadiens coach Claude Julien said. "Those are the kind of guys you're really happy for when they get rewarded with a big win like that."

Goal of the game

Pacioretty's empty-net goal at 18:42 of the third period.

Save of the game

Niemi's save on Wilson at 1:52 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Byron's goal at 10:41 of the third period.

They said it

"That guy is a professional. As soon as he came, the guys here who had played with him before said he would show up and work hard no matter what. It's fun shooting on a goalie like that in practice who really battles hard and makes us better players. To see him get rewarded was really nice, and [he] picks up the group when we weren't picking up our game." -- Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty on goalie Antti Niemi
"There's some guys that have one or two points and they're top producers. They get power-play time and there's not much there. When we're at our best, we get production through our whole lineup and lately [Lars] Eller's line has been the most productive line we have. Nothing against [Eller], but there's guys that are usually higher producers than that line." -- Capitals coach Barry Trotz

Need to know

Niemi had last won an NHL game April 4, 2017, for the Dallas Stars against the Arizona Coyotes (3-2 in overtime). This was his second win since Feb. 28, 2017. … Grubauer has stopped 154 of the past 157 even-strength shots he's faced (.980 save percentage). … Byron had his first multipoint game since Dec. 2, when he scored a hat trick against the Detroit Red Wings in a 10-1 win.

What's next

Canadiens: Host the Boston Bruins on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVA Sports, SN, NESN, NHL.TV)
Capitals: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday (12:30 p.m. ET; NBC, TVA Sports, NHL.TV)