WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Alex Ovechkin scored on a laser of a shot off a faceoff, Logan Thompson made some spectacular saves among his 28 and the Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 in Game 5 of Wednesday night to advance in the NHL playoffs.
It鈥檚 the Capitals鈥� first series win since capturing the Stanley Cup in 2018, and they clinched at home for the first time since 2015. They in the second round with a spot in the final at stake.
with his power-play goal 11 minutes in, setting off chants of 鈥淥vi! Ovi!鈥� from the juiced up crowd. Pierre-Luc Dubois delivered a perfect pass to Jakob Chychrun, who beat Jakub Dobes just over two minutes later. Tom Wilson provided a valuable insurance goal late in the second period.
Fans expressed their appreciation for Thompson with chants of 鈥淟T! LT!鈥� when he turned aside Kaiden Guhle on a three-on-one rush and with under two minutes left when he flashed his glove to rob Nick Suzuki with Dobes pulled for an extra attacker. Brandon Duhaime sealed it with an empty-netter with 25.6 seconds left.
Thompson was at his best at the start when the Canadiens came out with the desperation expected from a team facing elimination and then in the third when they pressed and tilted the ice toward him. , Washington鈥檚 No. 1 goaltender kept the puck out of the net in crucial situations to pave the way to a victory 鈥� sometimes getting his masked head in the way of shots.
The Capitals asserted their dominance in the East鈥檚 1 versus 8 series, a year after as the underdog in it by the New York Rangers. Banged up and and scoring winger Patrik Laine, the Canadiens got a goal from Emil Heineman but ultimately ran out of steam after going on a tear down the stretch late in the regular season to be the last team to qualify for the playoffs.
Up next
Carolina and Washington meet in the playoffs for the first time since 2019. The Hurricanes won that series in seven games on a goal in double overtime.
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AP NHL playoffs: and
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
