Price notches 250th win as Candiens halt Capitals
WASHINGTON -- Jeff Petry scored the go-ahead goal and Carey Price stopped 20 shots to record his 250th career win as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 on Saturday night at Verizon Center.
The loss snapped Washington's six-game winning streak.
Artturi Lehkonen gave Montreal (20-7-4) a 1-0 lead in the first period and Petry snapped a 1-1 tie with his sixth goal of the season late in the second.
Price was slated to sit out Saturday's game, but was pulled Friday night after allowing four goals on 18 shots in less than 27 minutes in a 4-2 loss to San Jose and coach Michel Therrien opted to start him against Washington.
He came in with a 5-9-4 record and a 3.08 goals against average in 18 games versus the Capitals.
Nicklas Backstrom scored Washington's only goal during a 5-on-3 power play in the second period.
Braden Holtby made 23 saves for Washington (19-9-3) in a matchup of the NHL's past two Vezina Trophy winners.
The Canadiens held a 1-0 lead after the first period despite being outshot 8-5.
Artturi Lehkonen controlled the puck after a faceoff in the Washington end and skated behind the net. His wraparound attempt deflected off Holtby's stick and in the net to give Montreal the lead at 14:41 of the period.
In the second period, Washington was already on a power play when Montreal's Alexei Emelin was called for interference at 14:07. It took the Capitals just nine seconds to cash in on the 5-on-3 advantage, as Justin Williams took a pass from Alex Ovechkin and sent a perfect feed across the crease to Backstrom, who fired high into a big opening for his ninth goal of the season.
Backstrom has four goals and nine points in the last 10 games.
Montreal regained the lead with 3:21 left in the second when Petry got behind the defense and tipped in a pretty cross-ice pass from Max Pacioretty on the rush.
NOTES: Washington recalled F Zach Sanford from Hershey of the American Hockey League. Sanford, who began the season with the Capitals, was in the lineup. ... LW Andre Burakovsky, D Taylor Chorney and RW Brett Connolly were Washington's scratches. ... Canadiens D Mark Barberio replaced D Zach Redmond in the lineup. LW Chris Terry, called up from St. John's of the AHL after F Sven Andrighetto was injured Friday night, was also in the lineup. C Andrew Shaw (concussion-like symptoms) missed his second straight game. ... Washington C Nicklas Backstrom is five assists away from becoming the 10th Swedish-born player in NHL history to reach 500 for his career.