Capitals 3, Canadiens 2
Captain Alex Ovechkin scored and defenseman Jack Hillen added a goal and an assist as visiting Washington edged Montreal to earn its fifth straight win.
Eric Fehr also tallied and Michal Neuvirth turned aside 27 shots for the Capitals, who remained two points ahead of second-place Winnipeg in the Southeast Division. The Jets cruised to a 4-1 triumph over Buffalo on Tuesday.
Lars Eller scored twice and Carey Price made 24 saves as the Canadiens fell for the second time in the last seven games. Montreal remained one point ahead of the idle Boston Bruins for the lead in the Northeast Division.
Eller opened the scoring with 4:16 left in the first period, receiving a beautiful backhanded feed from Brandon Prust before punching the puck in from the doorstep. Ovechkin tied it with a wrist shot from the high slot at 7:50 of the second, beating one defender and ripping the puck past Price.
Fehr gave the Capitals the lead 1:46 later, batting the puck out of the air on the doorstep. Hillen made it a two-goal advantage with a blast from the blue line through traffic at 5:33 of the third, which turned out to be valuable insurance when Eller tallied again with 3:22 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ovechkin has 10 points (eight goals) during the five-game winning streak. … Washington C Nicklas Backstrom collected two more assists and has at least one point in seven straight games. … Rookie C Alex Galchenyuk recorded two assists for Montreal.