Wilson's late-game heroics push surging Capitals past Canadiens

MONTREAL (AP) — Tom Wilson scored twice in the third period and the Washington Capitals rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Saturday night.

Pierre-Luc Dubois and Dylan Strome also scored to help the Capitals come back from a 2-0 deficit. Aliaksei Protas had two assists and Logan Thompson finished with 22 saves to help Metropolitan Division-leading Washington get its ninth straight road win and extend its points streak to 6-0-1.

Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield scored five minutes apart to in the first period for Montreal, which had won two straight. Sam Montembeault finished with 31 saves.

Dubois got Washington on the scoreboard just 30 seconds into the second period. Wilson scored the tying goal at 7:10 of the third and then put the Capitals ahead with 8:12 remaining. Strome's power-play goal 1:59 later sealed the win.

Takeaways

Canadiens: Amid even-strength struggles, Montreal’s zone entry off the rush was strong and led to goals by Newhook and Caufield.

Capitals: Despite playing without Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie and Niklas Backstrom, Washington looked as good as ever, fighting back from a poor first period to continue their great run of form.

Key moment

In a span of roughly nine minutes with the score tied in the third period, Thompson saved four clear-cut breakaways, keeping the Capitals in the game.

Key stat

The Capitals have scored 28 goals in their last seven games.

Up next

Capitals visit Columbus on Thursday, and Canadiens host Anaheim on Monday.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL