Habs complete seven-day stretch with 3-1-1 mark

First period

• Mike Matheson thwarts an immediate Capitals chance with a sliding strip of the puck.
• Nick Suzuki gets tripped as he tries to get onto a loose puck deep in the Capitals zone, but is still able to set up Alexandre Texier for a shot, which goes off the post. No goal, but a power play.
• Juraj Slafkovský hits the opposite post seconds into the power play.
• It’s another hot start for the Habs that should have resulted in at least one goal, but they just need to keep this up.
• Washington has another giveaway with the Suzuki line on the ice, but Cole Caufield can’t do anything with the puck.
• Ivan Demidov sees that both of his defencemen need to get engaged in a board battle and backtracks right to the goal line to support. He takes the puck from Lane Hutson and that takes away all the pressure. Good work from the rookie.
• Washington will get a chance on the power play as Joe Veleno goes off for hooking.
• Josh Anderson is back in the lineup, and with no Tom Wilson to wrestle, he decides to score a short-handed goal instead. He keeps the puck on a two-on-one with Danault and beats Logan Thompson far-side.

Josh Anderson flies in shorthanded and RIPS one. 1-0 #Habs

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— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) January 13, 2026 at 8:25 PM

• Samuel Montembeault makes a big save just as Veleno gets out of the box, but, as he’s doing a lot right now, pops a rebound out several feet and faces another shot. I think it actually ended up hitting Anthony Beauvillier who was in the crease battling for the rebound.
• Slafkovský picks up a panicked Washington clear along the boards and tries to set up Kapanen for a goal, but the puck gets deflected away before it reaches the target.
• Add another should-hand-been-a-goal for Kapanen in this back-to-back. A point-blank jam set up by Demidov.
• Kapanen attempts to stick-handle the puck out of his zone through traffic and it leads to great chance for, of all people, Alexander Ovechkin. Montembeault makes his more important save of the period with about 40 seconds to go.
• Outside of that final breakdown, Montreal was the more dangerous team that period and could have scored four or five goals. At least they have a lead to show for their play.

Second period

• Caufield picks up a puck behind Washington’s defence and leads a two-on-one with Suzuki. Caufield’s shot goes high in the air off Thompson and falls in the slot for Mike Matheson, who is denied of what looked like an automatic goal by Thompson.
• This is very similar to last night’s game in terms of chances for Montreal with much better defensive play. Bad luck and some quality goaltending are the only reasons why they aren’t running away with this game.
• Zachary Bolduc does some good work below the goal, actually winning a one-on-one battle which has been surprisingly rare this season, and is able to get the puck to Phillip Danault. Danault finds Gallagher in the slot, and the veteran winger has a second to corral the puck and fire it in.

Good battle win by Bolduc, gets it to Danault, and Brendan Gallagher rips one to make it 2-0 #Habs pic.twitter.com/Sbhx64t35d

— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) January 14, 2026

• Jayden Struble gets hit hard into the boards, and Arber Xhekaj tosses off his gloves to come to his defence partner’s defence. After about 60 seconds of wrestling, the players separate, and Xhekaj has been given the extra two for instigating, set to spend the next 17 minutes in the penalty box.
• Josh Anderson earns himself another short-handed chance, then single-handedly prevents three Capitals from getting the puck out of their own zone. It’s really amazing that he’s become such a strong penalty-killer.
• The crowd is getting on the Capitals to shoot the puck on the power play. Montreal has had the better chances with only four skaters on the ice.
• Just as the Habs killed off the penalty, Caufield takes another one with a trip in the neutral zone. The Capitals’ power play isn’t very good, but it’s not at 0%, so they need to get things back together here.
• More boos from the home crowd. Are the Capitals trying to get their power-play coach fired like the Toronto Maple Leafs did?
• The Slafkovský line and a defence duo of Hutson and Noah Dobson hems the Capitals in their zone for about two minutes.
• On the next shift, Dylan Strome goes off for slashing that hand of Texier. A chance to get a big cushion at the end of the second period coming up.
• An even better chance now as Suzuki takes a high stick on the zone entry. This could be the most important moment of this game.
• They have both Caufield and Dobson at the top of the circles as shooting threats.
• Caufield gets a shot from the more familiar spot in the left circle, but Thompson makes the save.
• That’s a big kill for the Capitals who can build on it for the third period. They will have just 27 left on the PK after the intermission.
• Montembeault will need to be Montreal’s best player in the third period of what is Montreal’s fifth game in seven days.

Third period

• Montreal has both Hutson and Dobson on the brief power play, and that probably makes sense with a two-goal lead to consider.
• The puck leaves the zone as Hutson tries to play it. If he touches it, it will be an intentional offisde, so he fakes playing it to try to fool the Capitals before retreating.
• The Capitals are controlling this period so far, which was expected.
• Matt Roy shoots the puck from the top of the circle, and it deflects off the foot of Ethen Frank and in. The lead is down to one.
• The goal has gone to Washington’s legs as they’re flying around the ice now.
• Montreal is trying to play out the final 15 minutes by icing the puck. This probably isn’t going to end well.
• Martin St-Louis has started going to two centres on the ice with 10 minutes to play. This is going to feel like an hour for everyone involved.
• Montembeault makes a critical save on Brett Leason. Eight minutes to play.
• Suzuki chips the puck down the wall and gets Montreal’s second shot this period.
• I have no idea why, but Nic Dowd just grabbed onto the jersey of Xhekaj below the offensive goal line and will sit for holding. Washington was having no issue getting shots and chances, and there’s plenty of time left.
• Montreal is actually pushing for a goal here, seeing the need to extend their lead.
• Washington is just cross-checking any player who gets close to the net. No way the ref will put the trailing team down two players this late, and they know it.
• A good shift on the offensive zone after the power play ends takes another minute off the clock. Three to play.
• Two minutes.
• They almost got there. Another deflection from Frank in the slot ties the game.
• Slafkovský and Demidov push for a late winner, and force Thompson into a couple of difficult stops.
• No regulation win, but the Habs have a point, and the more skilled lineup to play the three-on-three.

Overtime

• Montreal takes the opening possession.
• The play is pretty sloppy in this frame. Montreal is tires, I don’t know what the Capitals’ excuse is.
• The refs ignore Hutson being tackled by his neck near the side of the net, but now they can’t look the other way on a trip by Suzuki outside his blue line. Washington is on the power play.
• Strome hits the post.
• Montreal gets the kill and has a minute to find a winner before this goes to a dreaded shootout.
• Instead it’s Connor McMichael who caps Washington’s comeback by gaining body position on Slafkovský and potting a rebound.
• Things probably look different if Montreal had scored on that five-on-three, but a 3-1-1 record from a stretch of five games in seven days is nothing to be too upset about.
• Now they need to get some rest before Thursday’s game versus the charging Buffalo Sabres.

EOTP 3 Stars

3) You’ll have to dust that off for old time’s sake

2) Just hoping they’d forget what they did and not make an immediate make-up call perhaps

1) It definitely makes for a welcome return to the lineup