Andrew Mangiapane scored the go-ahead goal with 3:37 remaining in the third period as the Washington Capitals defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.
Mangiapane picked up a drop pass at the blue line before ripping a shot past Jakub Dobes glove side to give the Capitals a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.
Brandon Duhaime scored twice, including an empty-net goal with 2:39 left, while Dylan Strome had a goal and an assist for Washington, which trailed 2-1 entering the third period. Tom Wilson added a second empty-netter.
The Capitals also won Games 1 and 2 at home.
Logan Thompson made 16 saves after exiting with an injury late in Game 3. Teammate Dylan Strome crashed into Thompson on Montreal’s fifth goal Friday, and the Capitals’ starter needed to be helped off the ice.
Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky replied for Montreal, while Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov produced two assists apiece.
Dobes stopped 21 shots in his first career playoff start. The 23-year-old from Czechia replaced injured starter Sam Montembeault midway through the second period in Game 2. Montembeault is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
The Canadiens defeated the Capitals 6-3 in a chaotic Game 3 — the first playoff game before a full Bell Centre since 2017 — that featured a bench brawl and both starting goalies sustaining injuries.
Duhaime tied the game 2-2 at 6:39 of the third period after some fortunate bounces from his shot at the side of the net. The goal followed a massive hit from Capitals heavy hitter Wilson on defenceman Alexandre Carrier, who later exited the game.
Montreal won the special teams battle, going 2-for-4 on the power play while killing off five penalties — including a 44-second 5-on-3 in the second period off two debatable calls.
Dobes stretched out for a spectacular blocker save on John Carlson to help kill the two-man advantage.
Slafkovsky then tied the game on the power play at 10:33 of the second, finishing a silky feed from Demidov and a secondary assist from Hutson — combining for an average age of 20.33 on the goal.
Caufield made it 2-1 at 18:32 with another power-play goal, squeaking a one-timer past Thompson to raise the Bell Centre’s roof.
Energized by the Game 3 win, thousands of rabid fans packed the streets outside the Bell Centre. Those inside the building — including former Canadien defenceman P.K. Subban — drowned out public address announcer Michel Lacroix and delayed the national anthems with “Go! Habs Go!” and “Ole, Ole, Ole!” chants.
After a sloppy first period, Strome capitalized on a couple of Canadiens mistakes to open the scoring 1:25 into the second.
Hutson turned the puck over to Anthony Beauvillier, leading to a partial break. Then Dobes misplayed it, hesitating to freeze the puck and letting it bounce off his pad, and Strome was there to bury it with a backhand.
Game 5 goes Wednesday at Capital One Arena in Washington.
The Canadiens recalled netminder Cayden Primeau from American Hockey League affiliate Laval to serve as Dobes’s backup. Primeau, who began the season in Montreal before getting sent down in December, rushed to the Bell Centre on Friday after Montembeault exited the game.
Primeau wasn’t on the roster before 5 p.m., meaning he would not have been eligible to play. Local police officer Patrick Cheverfils filled in as an emergency backup.
“I don’t know the logistics of anything, not sure I would have been able to be used or whatnot,” he said. “Just wanted to make sure I was here.”
Wilson went viral on social media for making a crybaby gesture toward the Canadiens after he and Josh Anderson brawled on Washington’s bench in Game 2. Wilson specified Sunday morning that his taunts weren’t directed at the entire team.
“It was for one guy,” he told reporters. “I’m not gonna say who, but he knows who it was and obviously the camera was right on me, so I guess I should probably just shut up sometimes.
“Emotions get high.”
Playoff buzz abound in Montreal as Habs and Victoire qualify for post-season
