Washington, D.C., April 24, 2025 — Logan Thompson’s heroics in goal propelled the Washington Capitals to a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 2 of their best-of-seven playoff series on Wednesday at Capital One Arena. Thompson made 25 saves, including 14 in a third period where Montreal outshot Washington 14-5, preserving a one-goal lead in a tense finish. The win gives the Capitals a 2-0 series lead as they head to Montreal for Game 3 on Friday at Bell Centre.
The game hinged on Thompson’s third-period performance, as Montreal’s Sam Montembeault matched him with stellar saves, stopping 31 of 33 shots. “I thought he was the difference tonight in the third,” said Capitals coach Spencer Carbery. “He wins us that game in the third period, and Montembeault was fantastic in the first 40 [minutes], minus the first three minutes.” Thompson’s key stops included a toe save on a Christian Dvorak tip, which Dylan Strome called “awesome, incredible,” and timely saves against Nick Suzuki’s dangerous line.
Montreal controlled the third, holding the puck in Washington’s zone for nearly 10 minutes and out-attempting the Capitals 34-16. “I thought he was awesome, incredible,” said Strome, who has contributed to four of Washington’s six goals in the series. “He shut the door when we needed it most.” Carbery criticized the team’s third-period management, noting they played “with fire” by not extending the lead.
The second period saw all the scoring except for Connor McMichael’s empty-net goal at 19:58 of the third. Montreal struck first at 1:16 when Dvorak tucked a puck under Thompson’s pad for the series’ first lead. “I was skating behind the net, and I noticed I had a little room to take it,” said McMichael, describing his response. At 3:47, McMichael tied it 1-1 after a shot rebounded off Montreal’s David Savard. “First shot didn’t go my way, and I honestly thought someone was [at the] back door, so I tried throwing it, but like I said, it was a lucky bounce.”
Exactly one minute later, Strome scored at 4:47, burying his own rebound past Montembeault. “I just got lucky; it came right back to my stick,” said Strome. “He’s a big goalie obviously, he gets set pretty quickly.” Despite going shorthanded 28 seconds later, Washington maintained momentum with a strong penalty kill. “I think we just had a lot of momentum in that game, once we answered back,” said Carbery. Montreal’s two power plays yielded just one shot, while the Capitals generated high-danger chances shorthanded.
The game featured long, free-flowing stretches, with only 11 face-offs in the first period and 14 in the third, compared to 25 in the second. Montreal’s coach Martin St. Louis praised Washington’s defense but noted his team’s missed opportunities. “Washington, it’s a really good team,” said St. Louis. “They make it hard to attack; they defend really well. But I felt that we had pockets where we did attack. We didn’t capitalize, but we generated.”
Thompson credited the back-and-forth battle for boosting his confidence. “You definitely get confidence from it, especially when I thought Monty was having a hell of a game on the other side of it,” said Thompson. “It’s a back-and-forth game, and those are the type of games you dream of playing in as a kid, and yeah, it went our way tonight.”
The Capitals’ quick responses echoed their regular-season form, where they excelled at answering opponents’ goals. Despite Montreal’s 26 shots to Washington’s 32, Thompson’s performance ensured the two goals in the second period were enough. Game 3 in Montreal will test whether the Capitals can maintain their edge in this tightly contested series.
