(Washington) The Montreal Canadiens got off to a bad start on their three-game trip to the United States on Wednesday night, losing 6-3 to the Washington Capitals.
Jake Evans, Cole Caufield and Artturi Lehkonen hit the target for the Canadian (5-14-2), who was trying – again – to sign a second straight victory for the first time in the campaign. In addition, it was already the ninth time this season that the Bleu-blanc-rouge conceded five or more goals to the opponent in a game.
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Nic Dowd, John Carlson, Michael Sgarbossa, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tom Wilson and Dmitry Orlov all blackened the scoresheet for the Capitals (12-3-5), who recorded a third straight victory.
Alex Ovechkin closed the game with three assists, allowing him to join Guy Lafleur at 27e rank in NHL history with 1,353 career points.
PHOTO NICK WASS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ilya Samsonov (30) blocks a shot from Brendan Gallagher (11).
Jake Allen, back in net for the first time since suffering a concussion Nov. 13 against the Detroit Red Wings, looked rusty at times and ended his night of work with 28 saves.
His opposite, Ilya Samsonov, was true to himself by repelling 25 of the 28 shots directed at his cage.
Things started badly for the men of head coach Dominique Ducharme. There were not yet five minutes elapsed on the dial that the Habs were already pulling back.
Dowd opened the scoring at 3:34 of the first frame after easily passing Jeff Petry on the right flank, before rounding Allen’s net and speeding him up at the far post.
PHOTO NICK WASS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jake allen
Carlson then doubled his lead to 9.43, then Sgarbossa widened the lead to 3-0 with just over five minutes to go in the period.
Small consolation, Evans took advantage of Carlson’s turnaround deep in home territory to grab a loose puck in the slot and surprise Samsonov, with 1:14 left in the first period. It was then 3-1 in favor of the locals.
The two teams then traded one goal each in the second period.
After Kuznetsov’s net at 9:05, Caufield put an end to his offensive scarcity by hitting a puck on the fly just behind the red line of the Caps net, despite Samsonov’s intervention at the last minute.
The net was awarded after a video replay, confirming the No. 22’s first NHL goal since the infamous June 24 game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Wilson, then Orlov, however nailed the coffin of the Habs by vibrating the ropes early in the third engagement. Lehkonen completed the scoring by beating Samsonov with a sharp breakaway shot, with 2:25 remaining in the game.
In the victory, the Caps lost the services of defender Justin Schultz, injured upper body.
The Canadian will continue his trip Friday night, visiting the Sabers in Buffalo.