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The Washington Capitals have the Montreal Canadiens on the brink after a come-from-behind Game 4 victory at the Bell Centre on Sunday night — and Logan Thompson returned for his third win of the series.
After suffering an injury in Game 3 and being forced to leave the contest, the 28-year-old was healthy enough to start, and make 14 saves on 16 shots, in the 5-2 triumph.
“I kind of got my bell rung a bit there,” Thompson said of his injury on Friday night, per NHL.com's Sean Farrell. “It was scary. It definitely could have been a lot worse.”
Thompson was run into by teammate Dylan Strome during a 6-3 loss in Game 3 and was unable to return. After being labelled a game-time decision, he was able to go on Sunday night.
The Capitals trailed 2-1 heading into the third period, but erupted for four goals in the final frame. And Thompson did his job, not allowing any Montreal goals in the final 20 minutes.
Despite being 0-for-5 on the powerplay — the Canadiens scored both of their goals with the man advantage — Washington was able to get the job done at 5-on-5.
“Remove all the power plays and penalty kills, I loved our game,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said, per Farrell. “I loved our start, I loved our first, I loved our second. I thought the details inside of our game were good. We weren’t generating a bunch, but that was the way it played out.”
Capitals 1 win away from 2nd round
With that, the Capitals will have the opportunity to send the Canadiens packing on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena. If they're able to get through Montreal, it would avenge a seven-game Round 1 loss from 2010.
“I think the thing we depend on is we’re a really tight group,” said Tom Wilson, who was not penalized for a massive hit on Alexandre Carrier before the tying goal. “There’s an accountability when you’re that tight with each other and you pull together. There’s accountability when you’re down in tough moments that you just want to pull for the guy next to you and you want to go out there and get it done, and it’s just a really cool thing when it can be any guy.”
Although the Canadiens were unhappy that Wilson wasn't penalized — including head coach Martin St. Louis after the game — the Capitals stayed composed and got the job done in a raucous road arena.
Montreal starting goaltender Samuel Montembeault was also injured in Game 3, but unlike Thompson, was unable to return in Game 4. The Habs went with rookie Jakub Dobes, who made 21 saves — Washington's final two goals were scored into an empty net late in regulation.
The Capitals haven't won a round since capturing the Stanley Cup against the Vegas Golden Knights back in June of 2018. But they'll have an excellent opportunity to do just that on home ice — and with Thompson between the pipes — on Wednesday night.
Puck is set to drop from Capital One Arena just past 7:00 p.m. ET.
