Capitals beat Canadiens 3-1 for 7th straight victory

The Caps are now 15-1-1 in their last 17 games.

Goals from Evgeny Kuznetsov, Jay Beagle, and Jason Chimera in each period were all Braden Holtby and the Capitals needed on their way to a 3 to 1 victory – their seventh straight.

“We had our good first shift, and it was kind of a boost for the momentum, obviously, when you get a start”, Beagle said after the Canadiens win.

The Canadiens never pulled out of the first-period deficit and lost their sixth straight.

With this desperately needed win – ending a losing streak of six games – Montreal keeps the revolving door atop the Atlantic Division moving, as they’re back at No. 1.

Off to the best start in franchise history, Washington leads the Eastern Conference with a 26-6-2 record and has won eight straight at home.

Jay Beagle extended Washington’s lead to two with his fifth goal of the year early in the second period.

Even though leading scorers Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom didn’t contribute a point, Washington picked up where it left off before the break. “We showed tonight we don’t need everybody going”. “What they got we gave them and they’re big plays for us”.

However, less than a thirty seconds later Daniel Carr slammed a puck through Holtby’s wickets from atop the blue paint to cut the lead back to one goal.

Montreal (20-14-3) has managed just six goals in its last six games.

It also doesn’t help that the team is only shooting at 5.9 percent, as the drop in both percentages has led to the team struggling to score (and prevent) goals. Ovechkin had a shot go off the post with 6:08 remaining, and defenseman Matt Niskanen had a second shot go off the post seconds later.

Clune, 28, has been held pointless in two games with the Maple Leafs this season.

Faulk’s previous 12 goals came on power plays.

Blues 3, Stars 2 (SO): Center David Backes scored in the ninth round of the shootout to give the St Louis Blues a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars.

Quick made 27 saves in his second shutout this season and was rarely tested.

A goal and an assist from Sidney Crosby spurred Pittsburgh to a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

The goal was just the second of the season for Glendening, enabling the Red Wings to sweep the season series from Nashville. Michael Latta was questionable to return to the game after his fight with Deslauriers, the injury was deemed to be upper body, but not his head. Montreal C Lars Eller played his 400th National Hockey League game. Drew Doughty, Tanner Pearson and Dustin Brown also scored for Los Angeles, which won for the second time in six games. Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored twice, and Antoine Vermette added a goal for the Coyotes.

The Sabres were shut out for the third time this season.

According to oddsmakers from oddsmakers at RealBets, Washington is favored at home in today’s game, as the Capitals are getting odds of -175 to win, while the Canadiens are getting a money line of +160 to win.