After a late second-period tally by Nick Suzuki knotted things up at three, it seemed like the Capitals’ Halloween tilt against the Habs was headed towards a track meet, with the teams combining for six goals in the middle frame.
The opening five minutes of the third continued that trajectory, after Trevor van Riemsdyk broke up a long stretch pass from Cole Caufield, and immediately found Tom Wilson who took it to Montreal’s territory. Whip would send the puck back to van Riemsdyk at the point, who flung it towards goalie Cayden Primeau’s cage. After Primeau made the initial stop, Connor McMichael would find the rebound and bury it for his 5th goal of the year, which would stand as the eventual game winner:
After a non-descript first period, these were the types of plays that were available all night for the Capitals, and became increasingly scarce for the Canadiens.