Alex Tuch scored two goals and set up another as the Washington Capitals rallied from behind to beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 on Wednesday night in Washington. The Capitals snapped a two-game losing streak with their ninth win of the season.
Montreal jumped to an early lead when Josh Anderson finished a feed from Alex Newhook 4:56 into the first period, finding space alone in front of the net. Washington responded through Jordan Kyrou, who cut to the middle and fired a quick shot past Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes to level the score.
About halfway through the opening frame, the Canadiens regained the advantage when Lane Hutson beat Charlie Lindgren with a swift shot from the slot. Hutson’s goal came against his younger brother, Capitals defenseman Cole Hutson, marking their first time facing off in the NHL. Washington tied the game again on a power play with just 25 seconds left in the period. Ivan Miroshnichenko made a backdoor feed to Tuch, whose shot deflected off Anderson’s stick and into the net.
Early in the second period, Tuch gave the Capitals their first lead of the night with a short-handed goal at 6:16. Anderson answered once more for Montreal, tying it at 3-3 from close range. The game remained tight until Justin Holl scored a point shot through traffic with 7:31 remaining in the period, putting Washington ahead again.
Tuch sealed the win for the Capitals with an insurance goal a few minutes later, scoring his fifth of the season. Goalie Charlie Lindgren stopped 26 shots to help Washington hold on.
For Montreal, Anderson finished with two goals, while Hutson and Nick Suzuki each added one. The Canadiens had a strong start but were unable to maintain their lead against the Capitals’ comeback effort.
The game featured multiple momentum swings, with both teams exchanging goals in a contest that stayed close until the final whistle. Washington’s comeback hinged on Tuch’s finishing and Lindgren’s steady goaltending.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, the Dallas Stars edged the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in a shootout. Roope Hintz scored the winning goal in the fourth round, while Casey DeSmith made the decisive save on Brock Nelson. The Stars’ Miro Heiskanen and Arttu Hyry also scored during regulation. Hyry nearly clinched the game in overtime but hit the post on a bouncing puck.
Colorado had two goals disallowed early in the game. Jaden Schwartz’s first-period score was overturned after an offsides challenge, and Gabriel Landeskog’s goal was taken off the board for a kicking motion. Later, Gavin Brindley thought he scored, but replays confirmed the puck only glanced off both posts without crossing the line.
The Stars split their back-to-back series with the Avalanche, having lost the previous night’s game 3-2 at home.
According to Yahoo Sports.
