Canadiens edge Capitals in OT for 9th win in 11 games

WASHINGTON -- Nick Suzuki scored at 1:15 of overtime for the Montreal Canadiens, who stayed hot with a 3-2 win against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Friday.

Suzuki's pass for Cole Caufield on a 2-on-1 was broken up by Capitals forward Dylan Strome, but the puck deflected to the front of the net, where Suzuki lifted it over the blocker of Logan Thompson.

Caufield scored for the fifth consecutive game and also had an assist for the Canadiens (20-18-3), who have won three straight -- each in overtime or a shootout -- six of their past seven and nine of their past 11.

“We’re still a young team and we’re learning how to win the past couple of years,” Suzuki said. “We’ve kind of figured out the recipe for us and each win gives us more confidence to go out and do it again.”

Jakub Dobes made 15 saves to improve to 3-0-0 to begin his NHL career.

“I was a little nervous until we got into OT because I really wanted to take the point from these guys,” Dobes said. “When we got to the OT, I was a little bit even more calm. It’s more like I really focus on grabbing points, so when we took the one point, I was pretty happy. We took two, I was thrilled. So, it was a good game today.”

Jakob Chychrun and Lars Eller scored for the Capitals (27-10-5), who extended their point streak to six games (3-0-3) and their home point streak to 10 (7-0-3) but have not won consecutive games since Dec. 20-22.

“It’s good to get points for sure, and good teams are finding ways to get points when they’re maybe not at their best,” Eller said. “But you also have to be aware that there are some things that aren’t good enough, and sometimes points can mask that a little bit. So, we can’t fall into that trap. We have to keep pushing ourselves to be better and I know we will.”

Charlie Lindgren started and stopped all nine shots he faced before leaving the game at 2:29 of the second period with an upper-body injury, which he sustained following a collision with Suzuki in his crease 16 seconds into the period. Thompson made 18 saves in relief.

“It’s never easy going in for your goalie partner when they’re injured,” Thompson said. "'Chucky' was having a great game. Credit to Montreal. They made it hard on me early. A couple of grade A chances that they buried. Could’ve made those saves and probably made it a different game, but credit to them.”

Washington forward Alex Ovechkin was held off the score sheet for the third straight game. He remains 23 goals shy of passing Wayne Gretzky (894) for the most in NHL history.

Chychrun gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead during a power play at 2:56 of the first period. He intercepted Jake Evans' clearing attempt at the blue line, skated to the top of the slot and beat Dobes glove side with a wrist shot.

Caufield tied it 1-1 at 4:56 of the second period, receiving a diagonal pass from Juraj Slafkovsky near the right post and beating Thompson blocker side.

Josh Anderson put the Canadiens ahead 2-1 at 13:22, skating in on a breakaway and lifting a backhand over Thompson's glove for a short-handed goal. The play started after Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin whiffed on a pass and fell over at the offensive blue line.

“You kind of just take what you get and what they give you,” Anderson said. “I thought he was cheating on his blocker side, so I decided to go to the backhand and it worked.”

Eller tied it 2-2 at 1:54 of the third period. Ethen Frank, who was making his NHL debut, beat out Montreal defenseman Arber Xhekaj to avoid an icing and passed out to Eller, who scored short side from the right circle.

“I thought he was arguably our best player on the ice,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said of Frank. “(He) has a positive impact. He’s the reason that we get that game tied. I thought he was fantastic.”

NOTES: Dobes is 3-0-0 with a 0.97 goals-against average and .959 save percentage (three goals on 74 shots). He is the second goaltender in Canadiens history to allow three goals or fewer through his first three career starts, joining Bob Perreault (three goals against from Dec. 17-20, 1955). ... Caufield’s five-game goal streak is tied for the longest in his NHL career. ... Carbery said Lindgren was still being evaluated after the game.