Capitals aim to fix 3rd-period issues against Canadiens in Game 3

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Washington Capitals seem to have how they want to play in the first two periods down pat. They probably will need to figure out the third periods, though, if they're going to get past the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference First Round and put together a lengthy Stanley Cup Playoff run.

The third period struggles haven't cost them a game -- yet. Washington leads the best-of-7 series 2-0 heading to Montreal for Game 3 at Bell Centre on Friday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MNMT, MAX).

But finishing games probably is the biggest concern for the Capitals after they let a 2-0 third-period lead slip away in their 3-2 overtime win in Game 1 on Monday and relied heavily on goalie Logan Thompson to hang on for 3-1 victory in Game 2 on Wednesday after they were outshot 14-5 in the third period.

"A lot through the series and through the playoffs is momentum," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said Thursday. "When you get it, how do you hold onto it? And when you lose it, how do you stop it as quickly as you can? And that's just what we didn't do. We let it snowball to where it's now one shift, two shifts, three shifts. Now it's five minutes, eight minutes, 10 minutes and now you're back on your heels for a significant portion of the period."

The Capitals have demonstrated through the first two games that when they have clean breakouts and get in on the forecheck, they're able to pressure the Canadiens into mistakes that lead to sustained offensive-zone pressure and scoring chances. That is demonstrated by their 23-8 advantage in high-danger shots on goal through the first two games, according to NHL EDGE stats.

It hasn't led to as many goals as the Capitals would like, mostly because of Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault, who stopped 58 of 63 shots (.921 save percentage) in the first two games. Still, it was enough to produce a 2-0 lead through two periods in Game 1 and a 2-1 lead heading into the third period in Game 2.

Washington outshot Montreal by a combined 50-33 and had a 73-56 advantage in shot attempts during the first two periods of the first two games.

"We're pushing," Capitals right wing Tom Wilson said. "We're pushing really hard at the start of the game. First two periods, we're all over them."

The story is different in the third periods, though, when the Canadiens, desperate to come back, pick up their intensity. Montreal outshot Washington by a combined 28-12 and had a 69-32 advantage in shot attempts during the third period of the first two games. That helped the Canadiens erase a 2-0 deficit in the final 9:28 of regulation in Game 1 before Alex Ovechkin scored 2:26 into overtime to give the Capitals the win.

In Game 2, with Thompson holding the fort, Washington clung to a 2-1 lead in the third period until Connor McMichael's clinching empty-net goal with two seconds remaining.

"I just think when teams are down, they play a different style," Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun said. "They obviously play more aggressive, and we just can't sit back. I think we just need to continue to play the way we were the first two periods. I just think that when we're predictable out of our own end, breaking out pucks well and getting in on our forecheck, then we're getting a lot of sustained [offensive] zone time and a lot of puck possession and good chances.

"So I think continue to stick to that when we have leads."

Oddly, the third usually was the Capitals' best period during the regular season. Their plus-39 goal differential in the third period was second-best in the NHL behind the Vegas Golden Knights' plus-41.

But in this series, the Capitals are facing a pesky Canadiens team that tied the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers for the most third-period comeback wins during the regular season with 10. With Montreal's experience coming back and playing with desperation late in games, Washington will have to figure out how to handle that pressure better.

That potentially could be even more important with the series shifting for the next two games to Bell Centre, where the Canadiens will be fueled by the energy and volume of their passionate fans.

"I think it's just kind of doing what's made us successful the whole year and what we've been doing in the first two periods and not deviating from that," left wing Andrew Mangiapane said. "We're kind of sitting back a little bit, but I think just us communicating, talking and knowing that they're going to be coming with a lot of pressure will help us out a lot.

"It starts in our [defensive] zone and setting up and putting pucks into good spots, and little things like that that will help the next line coming out so that we continue to have good O-zone and sustained pressure there."