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WASHINGTON – For 20 years, Alex Ovechkin has set the standard for the Washington Capitals. It was no different on Wednesday, as the captain set the tone again to lead his team to the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in nearly seven years.
Ovechkin turned the tide with his fourth goal of the playoffs, and with help from Jakob Chychrun, Tom Wilson and Logan Thompson, helped power the Capitals to a dominant 4-1 victory to eliminate the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5.
Here are all the takeaways live from D.C. as the Capitals move on to face the Carolina Hurricanes.
Alex Ovechkin Turns Tide After Slow Start, D.C. Dominates At 5-on-5 As Top Names Impress
Through the first half of the opening frame, the play wasn't exactly in Washington's favor, with Montreal dominating 8-1 in shots on goal and getting a power play early.
Then, Juraj Slafkovsky took a slashing call on the man advantage, and from there, the Capitals' top players stepped up to tilt the ice.
On the power play, Dylan Strome won the face-off cleanly back to Alex Ovechkin, who ripped home a one-timer to open the scoring. It marked his fourth goal of the playoffs, and his 76th career playoff goal. Meanwhile, Strome extended his point streak to five games and would pick up two assists, moving him to a team-leading nine points to open the postseason.
Ovechkin's tally injected life into D.C., who stepped up and started to dominate play at 5-on-5. All four lines were piling on the pressure and hungry, and shifted the game from the defensive zone to the offensive zone.
Later in the first, Pierre-Luc Dubois found Jakob Chychrun on a nice backdoor feed to put the Capitals up 2-0 and stop Montreal dead in its tracks, while setting the tone for the night.
Ultimately, it was dominant play at both ends and consistency that helped Washington cruise to the win, and in turn, the second round.
Logan Thompson, Capitals Shut Down Canadiens
As has been the story this postseason, Logan Thompson again made his impact known with another big game.
The 28-year-old, who shook off an injury scare to start and win Game 4, again shut down the Habs' top talent, tracking the puck efficiently and coming up big with the glove. His lateral movement was also great, as were his reads.
Thompson finished the night with 28 saves on 29 shots and also stood his ground as Montreal upped the ante in the final 20 minutes. Brandon Duhaime iced the win with an empty-netter, his third goal in two games.
Meanwhile, the defense in front of him also played a solid game, blocking 22 shots from the Canadiens, including five from Lane Hutson. The only goal to sneak in was a sharp-angle shot from Joel Armia that deflected in off Emil Heineman.
Everyone was also helping out, with the forwards also stepping up on the backcheck.
Special Teams Step Up
Washington also had the upper hand on both sides of the special teams battle, as the power play was able to cash in twice while the penalty kill played a perfect game to boot.
On the man advantage, Washington went 2-for-3. After Ovechkin converted early, Tom Wilson added another power-play goal late in the second, cashing in on a rebound to put his team up 3-0 with his second goal in as many games.
Then, on the kill, the Capitals stepped up in front of Logan Thompson and helped fend off the Canadiens' top talent, an area the team was eager to clean up after two rough showings up north in Montreal.
The team also stayed disciplined for the most part, taking just two penalties while drawing three.
Aliaksei Protas Makes Long-Awaited Return From Injury
Meanwhile, the Capitals got a key piece of the lineup back, as Aliaksei Protas made his return from a skate cut to the foot that had held him out since April 4.
Protas drew in on the fourth line, taking Taylor Raddysh's place. The 23-year-old eased his way back into action, making some strong plays, creating space, logging minutes on the penalty kill and generating offense at 5-on-5.
It was a welcome sight for Washington, who has seen Protas emerge as a top contributor this season.
Top Shelf Takes
- Give Ryan Leonard a lot of credit. The 20-year-old was moving his feet and making great plays, and doing what he could to contribute. Definitely continuing to come into his own.
- Matt Roy and Rasmus Sandin led D.C. with four blocked shots each.
- Anthony Beauvillier and Pierre-Luc Dubois set the tone with four hits apiece, the most on the team.
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