|
 Right winger Brendan Gallagher and left winger Tomas Fleischmann
also scored for Montreal (29-27-5), which began the night seven
points out of the East's second wild-card spot.
The Canadians led 4-1 after two periods, but Washington defenseman
Dmitri Orlov scored with 7:35 left and left winger Andre Burakovsky
beat Condon from the slot with 2:53 remaining.
Washington pulled goalie Philipp Grubauer with 1:40 left, but
couldn't get another puck past Condon.
Left winger Jason Chimera also scored for Washington (44-11-4),
which has a 10-point lead on Western Conference-leading Dallas in
the race for the Presidents' Trophy, and a 17-point margin for the
top seed in the East.
Goalie Braden Holtby was lifted early in the second period after
allowing three goals on 18 shots. Grubauer came on and made 15
saves, including one on a penalty shot.
Montreal had dropped five straight road games while the Capitals had
won nine-of-10 overall and 17-of-19 at home.
Washington has allowed the first goal in each of its last six games
and Wednesday night surrendered the first three, including two in
the first period.
Galchenyuk helped set up his own goal when he intercepted a clearing
attempt by defenseman Dmitri Orlov and fed right winger Dale Weise.
Holtby blocked Weise's shot, but Galchenyuk banged home the rebound
for his 15th goal of the season at 9:09 of the first.
Then with Washington right winger Tom Wilson off for hooking, Holtby
made the initial save on a shot from the point, but Gallagher scored
on the rebound with 1:13 left.
Just moments after Washington failed to convert a two-on-nine
mini-break, former Capital Fleischmann made it 3-0 when he fired
just under the crossbar 1:54 into the second period.
[to top of second column] |
That was all for Holtby, who slammed his stick against the post
before skating off as Grubauer took the ice.
The Capitals got back in it when Chimera swooped in to poke a loose
puck past Condon at 5:32 of the second period to make it 3-1.
Grubauer stopped Gallagher on a penalty shot with 7:48 left in the
second period, but 24 seconds later Galchenyuk beat Grubauer to the
far side on a two-on-one break to push the lead back to three.
Condon made the save of the night when, falling away from a shot,
reached back and blocked center Mike Richards' attempt with an
elbow.
NOTES: Washington LW Marcus Johansson (flu) returned after missing
Monday's game. ... Montreal D Nathan Beaulieu, who suffered a
lower-body injury during Monday night's loss to Nashville, didn't
make the trip. LW Lucas Lessio was also scratched. ... Capitals D
Mike Weber, acquired from the Sabres in a trade on Tuesday, has not
yet joined the team. D Taylor Chorney and C Michael Latta were
scratched. ... A drug charge against Capitals C Mike Richards was
stayed on Wednesday by a Manitoba judge, and the prosecution is no
longer pursuing the case. He was stopped at the U.S.-Canada border
in June and charged with possession of a controlled substance. ...
Capitals D Brooks Orpik played in his 800th NHL game.
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