Ovechkin unstoppable, third-period meltdown, and more: 3 reasons why Montreal Canadiens lost 6-3 to Washington Capitals

The Montreal Canadiens lost a tough game against the Washington Capitals 6-3 on Thursday night at the Capital One Arena. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had three points (1G, 2A) with Tom Wilson, Brandon Duhaime, Jakub Vrana, Connor McMichael, and Aliaksei Protas getting the other tallies for the Caps.

Cole Caufield responded with a power play goal of his own for the Montreal Canadiens, with Nick Suzuki and Brendan Gallagher scoring the others.

So, let’s take a look at the three reasons why the Montreal Canadiens lost to the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.

3 reasons why Montreal Canadiens lost to Washington Capitals

#3. The power play was cold

The Montreal Canadiens went 1-for-6 on the power play. While the Habs did get one goal from Caufield, they missed on five other opportunities which could have been the difference in the game.

The Habs power play was ranked 11th in the league entering Thursday night’s game. That 22.9% power play rate is certainly not bad. However, it didn’t get the job done against the Caps. Had the Canadiens capitalized on more than one opportunity, the game’s outcome could have been much different.

#2. The Canadiens couldn’t stop Ovechkin

Alex Ovechkin has three points on the night. He assisted on Wilson’s goal at 3:21 of the second, which opened the scoring in the game. Then, Ovechkin added another helper on Protras’ goal to put Washington up 5-3. Finally, Ovechkin added a goal of his own, his fifth of the season, to put the game away at 6-3.

Ultimately, the Canadiens’ inability to stop Ovechkin was their undoing. Had the Canadiens been able to keep Ovechkin in check, the Habs could have had a realistic chance at walking away with the victory.

#1. Third-period meltdown cost Montreal the game

Following a wild second period in which both teams scored three times, the Habs and Caps entered the third dead even.

But it was a brief, albeit significant meltdown that cost Montreal the game. The meltdown started with a costly turnover in the neutral zone following an errant pass coming from the Montreal zone. Tom Wilson picked up the puck, kept it in the Habs’ zone, and got the puck back to the point.

The shot hit the net with the Habs’ Cayden Primeau making the save. However, no one checked Connor McMichael, who was standing on the doorstep and buried the puck home to give Washington the lead.

Less than a minute later, another giveaway, this time at the Montreal blue line, led to a quick 2-on-1 with Ovechkin leading the way. As Ovechkin faked to shoot from the top of the circle, he slid the puck to Protas who deked Primeau for the goal. The two quick goals undid the Montreal Canadiens, essentially putting the game away for Washington.

The Habs will be back in action on Saturday as they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at the PPG Paints Arena.