Ovechkin scores as the Capitals eliminate the Canadiens in 5, advance to play the Hurricanes

WASHINGTON AP Alex Ovechkin scored on a laser of a shot off a faceoff Logan Thompson made a few spectacular saves among his and the Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens - in Competition of their first-round series Wednesday night to advance in the NHL playoffs It s the Capitals first series win since capturing the Stanley Cup in and they clinched at home for the first time since They face the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round with a spot in the Eastern Conference final at stake Ovechkin led the way with his power-play goal minutes in setting off chants of Ovi Ovi from the juiced up crowd Pierre-Luc Dubois delivered a perfect pass to Jakob Chychrun who beat Jakub Dobes just over two minutes later Tom Wilson provided a valuable insurance goal late in the second period Fans expressed their appreciation for Thompson with chants of LT LT when he turned aside Kaiden Guhle on a three-on-one rush and with under two minutes left when he flashed his glove to rob Nick Suzuki with Dobes pulled for an extra attacker Brandon Duhaime sealed it with an empty-netter with seconds left Thompson was at his best at the start when the Canadiens came out with the desperation expected from a band facing elimination and then in the third when they pressed and tilted the ice toward him Much like the final minutes of Contest Washington s No goaltender kept the puck out of the net in crucial situations to pave the way to a supremacy sometimes getting his masked head in the way of shots The Capitals asserted their dominance in the East s versus series a year after getting swept as the underdog in it by the New York Rangers Banged up and without top goalie Sam Montembeault and scoring winger Patrik Laine the Canadiens got a goal from Emil Heineman but ultimately ran out of steam after going on a tear down the stretch late in the regular season to be the last company to qualify for the playoffs Up next Carolina and Washington meet in the playoffs for the first time since The Hurricanes won that series in seven games on a goal in double overtime AP NHL playoffs https apnews com hub stanley-cup and https apnews com hub nhl Source