Ovechkin has 3 points, lifting the Capitals past the Canadiens

Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist and Cole Caufield scored in his fourth straight game for the Canadiens (4-6-1). Lane Hutson had two assists and Cayden Primeau made 28 saves.

“We're going through some things right now and the frustrating thing is we're repeating all the mistakes,” Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said. “As individuals, I think we need to take more responsibility towards the team. Once again, we sit here disappointed. We lost a game that we felt like we left it to them.”

Connor McMichael gave the Capitals a 4-3 lead at 4:21 of the third period when he converted the rebound from van Riemsdyk's point shot.

Just 36 seconds later, Protas increased the lead to 5:3. He received a cross-ice pass from Ovechkin, shot to the net and scored when his shot deflected off the stick of Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble.

“It was the next shift we scored (again),” Suzuki said. “This has been a trend lately and it needs to stop. You can’t allow two goals in a row like that.”

Ovechkin made it 6-3 at 12:27 when he scored from the left post after a pass from Protas.

“Between the second and third games, we had a very direct conversation about what needed to change in order for us to get two points because things weren't going very smoothly tonight,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “But in the third period, right on the first shift, I knew it. Our guys said, “Okay, we're going to find a way to win his game and we're going to stop it and go back to our style of play.”