Tuch Drives Capitals Past Canadiens
Depth chips in as Newhook and Danault hit iron and Montreal’s push goes unrewarded.
Montreal carried the play and generated the better looks, but Washington found enough finishing from across the lineup to win 5-4. The numbers back it up: the Canadiens owned expected goals 4.07 to 3.87 and a 56.2–43.8 edge in shot attempts share, yet the Capitals cashed their chances.
At the top, Alex Tuch was the difference-maker with two goals and three points, while Washington also got two of its five goals from depth players — real secondary help that mattered. For Montréal, Lane Hutson drove offense from the top pair with a goal and an assist, and the second line delivered as Josh Anderson scored twice and Alex Newhook added two helpers. The near-misses were loud: Newhook and Phillip Danault each rang iron on a night with two posts/crossbars.
In net, Charlie Lindgren’s work passed the eye test even with four against, while Jakub Dobes had a rough one. One-game read: Montreal out-chanced and lost; Washington scraped a win with depth and timely finish.
