It ended with a 5-2 thrashing by the Montreal Canadiens in a contest that the Washington Capitals seemed out of right from the start. The Capitals went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen in Friday night’s game with Carl Hagelin still recovering from his upper body injury.
The first period was scoreless with Montreal dominating possession throughout. They led in shots 26-16 including a 15-9 edge in shots on goal.
The fireworks began in the second period when Alex Ovechkin leveled Jonathan Drouin with a hit right into his left shoulder.