Overview
- The Capitals beat the Canadiens 5-4 on Wednesday night with Alex Tuch scoring two goals and adding an assist to lead Washington’s attack.
- Brothers Lane and Cole Hutson met in the NHL for the first time, with Cole recording the primary assist on Washington’s opening goal and Lane scoring for Montreal.
- Advanced metrics showed Montreal controlling play at five-on-five and out-producing the Capitals in high-danger chances by a wide margin, but the Habs failed to convert that advantage into a win.
- Charlie Lindgren started in goal for Washington and Jakub Dobeš started for Montreal, while Montreal recalled David Reinbacher from Laval but did not dress him for the game.
- The result underscored Washington’s offseason scoring additions delivering in Ovechkin’s announced final season and highlighted that Montreal’s draft-and-develop core still needs to fix late-game finishing and consistency.