Alex Tuch scored twice and added an assist as the Washington Capitals secured a 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena. Tuch factored into three goals, including an unassisted strike in the third period that provided the necessary cushion.
The first period featured four combined goals as the teams traded leads. Josh Anderson opened the scoring for Montreal at 4:29 with a snap shot assisted by Alex Newhook. Jordan Kyrou responded for Washington at 7:56, converting a snap shot after passes from Cole Hutson and Tuch. Lane Hutson reclaimed the lead for the Canadiens at 11:15 off assists from Zachary Bolduc and Noah Dobson. Washington pulled level again with 26 seconds remaining in the frame when Ivan Miroshnichenko scored his first goal of the season on a wrist shot during a power play, assisted by Ilya Protas and Kyrou.
Special teams and second-effort scoring defined the middle period. Tuch pushed Washington ahead 3-2 at 6:16 of the second, scoring unassisted on a shorthanded slap shot. Montreal evened the contest at 12:58 when Anderson netted his second snap shot of the game, again set up by Newhook. In the third period, Justin Holl gave the Capitals the lead for good at 12:29 with a snap shot assisted by Ilya Protas and Alex Ovechkin. Tuch added his second unassisted goal of the night on a snap shot at 17:05 to make it 5-3 before Nick Suzuki scored a power-play snap shot at 18:21, assisted by Lane Hutson, to round out the scoring.
Charlie Lindgren earned the win in net for Washington, stopping 25 of 29 shots. Jakub Dobes took the loss for Montreal after turning aside 19 of 24 shots. The Capitals converted 1 of 4 opportunities on the power play while also scoring shorthanded, and Montreal finished 1 of 2 with the man advantage.
The result moved Washington to a 4-3-0 record on the season, while Montreal shifted to 3-3-1. The meeting was the first of the regular season between the two clubs.
Both teams return to the ice on Tuesday, October 20. The Capitals stay at Capital One Arena to host the Los Angeles Kings, and the Canadiens host the San Jose Sharks.
