Canadiens Keep Hot Streak Alive with 3-2 OT Win Over Capitals

The Montreal Canadiens didn’t just slip past the Washington Capitals, on a Nick Suzuki 3-2 overtime goal on Friday night. The visiting Habs dictated the tempo of play, holding the Eastern Conference-leading Caps to a season-low 17 shots on net for an opponent to improve to 20-18-3 overall and 12-5 since Dec. 3.

In that span, the Canadiens have beaten elite competition in the form of the last four Stanley Cup champions: the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche. Backup Jakub Dobes was in net for that last victory on Jan. 4 and this one, improving to a perfect 3-0 in his NHL career so far.

Game Recap

As a sign of Dobes’ dominance, ex-Hab Lars Eller’s third-period 2-2 game-tying goal was the first and only even-strength goal he had given up in his three games so far. On the goal, Ethen Frank utilized his record-breaking speed to beat out Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj in a race for a loose puck deep in the offensive zone. The 26-year-old fed Eller for the goal to collect an assist, his first NHL point in his first NHL game.

Defenseman Jakob Chychrun opened the scoring in the first, on the power play, with a shot from the slot with Michael Pezzetta off for tripping. Early in the second, off a great pass from Juraj Slafkovsky to find him alone at the side of the net, Canadiens forward Cole Caufield roofed it past goalie Logan Thompson to scored in his fifth straight game to tie a personal-best goal-scoring streak. It was his 23rd on the season, which tied the score at 1-1.

Thompson had entered the game a few minutes earlier after starter Charlie Lindgren left following a collision with Suzuki. Josh Anderson put the Canadiens ahead 2-1 at 13:22 of the second with a shorthanded goal, scoring on a breakaway after Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin bobbled it at the line, with Kirby Dach off for slew-footing Tom Wilson. Overall, the Canadiens put 30 shots on the Capitals goaltending duo.

It was the third straight game that went the distance for each team. The Capitals had lost 4-3 to the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout on Jan. 6, while edging the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 in overtime on Jan. 8. The Canadiens (and Dobes in the previously mentioned win) had beaten the Avs 2-1 in a shootout on Jan. 4, while Suzuki also scored the winner against the Canucks in a 5-4 overtime win on Jan. 6.