NHL

Washington Capitals at Montreal Canadiens

· National Hockey League
Washington Capitals
31-24-7
Final
2 - 6
Montreal Canadiens
33-17-9

Caufield scores 2 in the first period as the Canadiens beat the Capitals 6-2

Ovechkin scores a second time vs. Canadiens, 921st career goal

Mike Matheson and Kirby Dach scored goals in the second period for Montreal, which has recorded at least a point in seven consecutive games (5-0-2).

Nick Suzuki and Jake Evans added empty-net goals in the third and Suzuki had two assists. Jakub Dobes made 27 saves as he improved his record to 9-0-2 over his last 11 games.

Caufield now has a team-high 35 goals this season. It took all of 30 seconds for the Canadiens to find the back of the net, marking the fastest game-opening goal scored by Montreal this season. Jakob Chychrun’s point shot was blocked by Caufield, resulting in a breakaway for the forward. His snap shot beat Charlie Lindgren to the glove side.

Alex Ovechkin scored twice for the Capitals, who had their three-game win streak snapped. The Capitals captain has scored 44 goals and recorded 76 points in just 63 career matchups against the Canadiens.

Lindgren stopped 19 shots in his first start since Jan. 29.

Washington failed to capitalize four power-play opportunities.

The Bell Centre remains a tough stop for visiting teams as Montreal improved to 10-3-1 in its last 14 home games.

Up next Capitals: Host the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night.

Canadiens: Visit the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.

Regular Season Series

WSH wins series 2-1

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 0:30 Cole Caufield Goal (34) Snap Shot, assists: none
Goal 1st Period 13:16 Alex Ovechkin Goal (23) Snap Shot, assists: Anthony Beauvillier (9), Declan Chisholm (5)
Goal 1st Period 14:19 Cole Caufield Goal (35) Backhand, assists: Nick Suzuki (48), Jayden Struble (9)
Goal 2nd Period 12:22 Mike Matheson Goal (6) Snap Shot, assists: Zachary Bolduc (14), Alex Newhook (8)
Goal 2nd Period 16:34 Kirby Dach Goal (8) Snap Shot, assists: Nick Suzuki (49)
Goal 3rd Period 12:12 Alex Ovechkin Goal (24) Snap Shot, assists: Dylan Strome (32), Anthony Beauvillier (10)
Goal 3rd Period 16:44 Nick Suzuki Goal (19) Backhand, assists: none
Goal 3rd Period 18:35 Jake Evans Goal (8) Wrist Shot, assists: none

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/wsh.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originWSH https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/mtl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMTL
13 Blocked Shots 12
20 Hits 13
4 Takeaways 3
29 Shots 25
0 Power Play Goals 0
4 Power Play Opportunities 3
0.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 1
0 Shootout Goals 0
27 Faceoffs Won 27
50.0 Faceoff Win Percent 50.0
15 Giveaways 16
4 Total Penalties 5
8 Penalty Minutes 10
Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Kirby Dach, C Out Mar 17
Patrik Laine, RW Injured Reserve Jan 10
Washington Capitals Washington Capitals Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
David Kampf, C Out Mar 18
Eriks Mateiko, LW Out Jan 13

Game Information

Bell Centre

Location: Montreal, QC
Attendance: 20,962 | Capacity:

2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Carolina 43 19 92 6
Pittsburgh 34 18 84 16
NY Islanders 39 24 83 5
Columbus 35 21 81 11
Philadelphia 32 23 76 12
Washington 34 27 76 8
New Jersey 35 31 72 2
NY Rangers 28 32 64 8

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Buffalo 42 20 90 6
Tampa Bay 41 21 86 4
Montreal 37 20 84 10
Boston 37 23 82 8
Detroit 37 23 82 8
Ottawa 34 24 77 9
Toronto 29 28 70 12
Florida 33 31 69 3
Full Standings