It was an ugly showing for the Capitals in Game 3. (Eric Bolte — Imagn Images)
The Washington Capitals entered Bell Centre on Friday with confidence and a 2-0 series lead. Then, a nightmare unfolded, as the team left with a disappointing defeat and a big loss in net.
Logan Thompson left with an injury, and an ugly effort led to a 6-3 loss to Montreal.
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Here are the takeaways from the loss as the Capitals hold a 2-1 series lead.
To make a rough night worse, the Capitals lost their starting goaltender in Logan Thompson, who has been excellent to open this series.
After being stung up high in the second and staying in, Thompson again took a hard hit in the third, as Dylan Strome collided with him trying to stop Juraj Slafkovsky, who scored to make it 5-3.
Thompson stayed down in visible pain and had to be helped off the ice, as Charlie Lindgren took over between the pipes.
It’s unclear what Thompson’s status is at this time.
The Capitals got off to their best starts of the year in Games 1 and 2 at home, and knew coming into Bell Centre that it’d be a different story and harder building to win in. It was, and Washington couldn’t start the way it wanted to, let alone string together a consistent 60 minutes.
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Montreal fed off the energy in the arena and got off to an impressive start while maintaining control for most of the night. The Canadiens got more physical and tightened things up, all while keeping the pressure on and making smart passes and plays.
As a result, the ice shifted, and the Capitals were left chasing all night long, while aso giving up last-minute goals in the first and second.
All the while, the defense in front of Logan Thompson, who was left stinging in the second period, left a lot to be desired, as turnovers, failed clears and bad plays right in front of the net led to lay-ups for the Habs.
It’s no secret that Washington and Montreal have not taken a liking to one another since this series started, and tensions boiled over going into the second intermission.
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There was plenty of pushing and shoving after the whistles, but when the horn sounded after two, Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson finally went after one another as both teams got into it at center ice.
Tensions Boil Over Between Capitals, Canadiens In Montreal As Tom Wilson & Josh Anderson Fight On Bench
Wilson and Anderson exchanged punches as they took their fight into the bench, and Lars Eller and Arber Xhekaj also got into it. Wilson and Anderson ultimately received misconducts and matching roughing penalties.
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Washington also couldn’t stay disciplined and took five penalties beyond what transpired at the end of 40, and it came back to bite as Montreal capitalized twice on the man advantage.
Connor McMichael opened the scoring early, and the Capitals were able to quickly respond to Montreal’s goals, with Jakob Chychrun and Alex Ovechkin equalizing minutes after the Habs.
Then, the Canadiens took control, and the Capitals lacked awareness and couldn’t get any offense going. Christian Dvorak, Juraj Slafkovsky and Alex Newhook struck to double up on D.C., and there was no response.
Washington was outshot 40-19 and outplayed all night long in a lackluster showing that the team will want to put behind it quickly.
