, which strengthened its grip on first place in the Metropolitan Division. Backstrom posted his 20th career game with at least four points and second this season. Charles Hudon scored twice for Montreal (27-37-12), which was coming off a 3-0 win at Buffalo on Friday night. Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher each had a goal for the Canadiens, who are 2-8-2 in their last 12 games. Gallagher's goal was originally credited to Jonathan Drouin before being changed. Canadiens goalie Carey Price struggled in his second start since returning from a concussion as Washington outshot Montreal 30-21. Jacob de la Rose provided the forecheck that sent Galchenyuk in alone to deke Philipp Grubauer 8:35 into the game. Gallagher added another a minute later but had it called back after an offside review. The setback seemed to knock the air out of Montreal, and the Capitals jumped on the Canadiens for three goals before the end of the period. Kuznetsov, back after missing three games with an upper-body injury, scored on a wrist shot from the right circle on a power play at 11:11. Price made a soft pass from behind his net that was picked off by Backstrom and fed to Wilson to score from the slot at 14:49. Wilson was fed alone in front again to score on a high shot at 18:11, giving the Capitals three goals on their first nine shots. A Washington power play had just ended when Beagle tipped in Dmitry Orlov's point shot 4:52 into the second. Montreal got it back with two seconds left in the period when Hudon redirected Jordie Benn's shot from 10 feet in front of Grubauer. Kuznetsov was parked at the side of the net to tip in Backstrom's pass on a power play 1:10 into the third period. Capitals defenseman Jakub Jerabek, who started the season in Montreal, saw his high shot tipped past Price by Oshie at 4:52. Hudon was credited with his 10th of the season at 9:28 when his shot through traffic from the left side looked as if it may have gone in off Nikita Scherbak's hip at the side of the net. Drouin took a shot on a power play with 1:57 left to play that Gallagher appeared to tip in while standing just outside the crease. NOTES: The Canadiens signed 20-year-old free-agent forward Hayden Verbeek of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds to a three-year contract starting next season. He is the nephew of former NHL player Pat Verbeek. UP NEXTCapitals: At the New York Rangers on Monday night. Canadiens: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night.---More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey)
Time: 7:00 PM EDT Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, PQ, Canada, H3B 5E8 / The Washington Capitals will try and build on their lead atop the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division when they play the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday night. The Capitals (43-24-7) lead the Pittsburgh Penguins by three points in the battle for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division and hold a game in hand. The Penguins lost 4-3 in overtime against the New Jersey Devils on Friday. Washington is playing the second game in a three-game road trip that started with a 1-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday." When you go on a road trip, (winning) the first one is always good," Capitals coach Barry Trotz told Washingtoncapitals.com. "It brings life to your room and there is something to be said about that energy you have when you feel good about yourself." You get that first one, and let's head into Montreal and let's play. They're going to play really hard, they've still got lots of good pieces and they've got Carey Price back in net. We're going to have to go in there and get two points. I don't think we'll have too much to not be excited about; it's always a special place to go." The Canadiens (27-36-12) will be playing the second of back-to-back games and are coming off a 3-0 win against the Sabres in Buffalo on Friday, ending a four-game losing streak. Antti Niemi made 35 saves for his first shutout of the season and his first with Montreal. Price returned to the lineup on Wednesday in a 5-3 loss to the Penguins, his first game since sustaining a concussion Feb. 20. He is expected to start for the Canadiens, who were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. Philipp Grubauer is expected to make his second straight start for the Capitals after Braden Holtby sustained a lower-body injury in the Caps' 4-3 win against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. Grubauer made 39 saves against the Red Wings. Washington captain Alex Ovechkin leads the NHL with 44 goals, one more than Patrick Laine of the Winnipeg Jets. The Capitals will have a new face with them in Montreal on Saturday after they signed forward Shane Gersich to a two-year entry-level contract Friday. The 21-year-old left the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks after his junior year. He was Washington's fifth-round pick (No. 134) in the 2014 NHL draft. The Capitals assigned forward Travis Boyd to Hershey of the American Hockey League to make room for Gersich. The Canadiens have eight injured players including top defenseman Shea Weber, who is out for the season after having surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left foot, and captain Max Pacioretty, out with a knee injury. Forward Arthur Lehkonen had his fifth goal in the past eight games against the Sabres." You always want to make progress, but now the bounces are going my way, so that's a good thing," Lehkonen, who has 10 goals on the season, told Montrealcanadiens.com. Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron continued to be two bright spots in what has been a miserable season for the Canadiens. Gallagher scored his 27th goal of the season, building on a career-best season in goals. He has 46 points, one away from tying his career best in 2014-15. Byron scored his 18th goal and is showing his career-best 22-goal campaign after being picked up on waivers last season is no fluke.
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