April 22 (UPI) — Alex Ovechkin smacked an airborne puck into the net with his stick blade for the first playoff overtime goal of his career, leading the Washington Capitals to a series-opening victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
Ovechkin scored the game-winner 3:26 into the bonus period over the 3-2 triumph Monday in Washington. He logged two scores and an assist for the Capitals.
“A goal is a goal,” Ovechkin told reporters. “It doesn’t matter. … And, in the playoffs, especially, it doesn’t matter who scores. I think it gives you confidence.”
Anthony Beauvillier picked up a goal and an assist in the victory. Fellow Capitals forward Dylan Strome logged three assists. The Capitals led 2-0 through two periods, but that edge evaporated in the third, prompting Ovechkin’s heroics.
“I thought he made a couple of big plays for us,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said of Ovechkin. “He was physical, set the tone. In the first period, he was leading the charge in dragging guys into the fight.”
The Canadiens outshot the Capitals 35-32. The Capitals held advantages of 42-33 in hits and 19-12 in blocked shots. They also totaled 13 giveaways, compared to 17 for their road foes.
Neither team found the net for the majority of the first period. Strome and forward Tom Wilson went on to assist Ovechkin for first blood with 1:26 remaining in the frame. Strome started the power-play sequence by gliding across center ice with the puck and skating to his right. He sent a quick pass to Wilson, who went past the blue line and found Ovechkin hovering above the left circle.
Ovechkin stopped the puck and fired a sizzling wrist shot past goaltender Sam Montembeault’s stick for a 1-0 lead.
Ovechkin and Strome assisted Beauvillier for a second score 12:09 into the second period, but the Capitals couldn’t find the net for the remainder of regulation.
Canadiens forward Cole Caufield cut the deficit in half with a wrist shot 10:32 into the third period. Defensemen Alexandre Carrier and Lane Hutson assisted forward Nick Suzuki for the game-tying goal about five minutes later.
Ovechkin went on to end the game less than three minutes into the bonus period. That sequence started with Strome and Canadiens forward Alex Newhook in a face-off. The puck squirted out to Beauvillier, who tapped it into another scrum.
Ovechkin was one of several players to touch the puck, which went off his skate and eventually found Beauvillier, who fired a shot. That attempt failed to find the net and again went back to Beauvillier. The Capitals forward then hit a bouncing pass in front of the net. Ovechkin finished the play by swatting his stick at the puck and smacking it by Montembeault for a dramatic victory.
The Capitals (1-0) will host the Canadiens (0-1) in the second game of the best-of-seven series at 7 p.m. EDT Wednesday at Capital One Arena. The winner of the series will meet the Carolina Hurricanes or New Jersey Devils in the second round. The Hurricanes, who lead that series 1-0, will host the Devils in Game 2 at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C.
