Habs pushed to the brink in 5-2 loss to the Capitals

Andrew Mangiapane scored the go-ahead goal with 3:37 remaining in the third period as the Washington Capitals defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.

Mangiapane picked up a drop pass at the blue line before ripping a shot past Jakub Dobes glove side to give the Capitals a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.

Brandon Duhaime scored twice, including an empty-net goal with 2:39 left, while Dylan Strome had a goal and an assist for Washington, which trailed 2-1 entering the third period. Tom Wilson added a second empty-netter.

The Capitals also won Games 1 and 2 at home.

Logan Thompson made 16 saves after exiting with an injury late in Game 3. Teammate Dylan Strome crashed into Thompson on Montreal's fifth goal Friday, and the Capitals' starter needed to be helped off the ice.

Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky replied for Montreal, while Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov produced two assists apiece.

Dobes stopped 21 shots in his first career playoff start. The 23-year-old from Czechia replaced injured starter Sam Montembeault midway through the second period in Game 2. Montembeault is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

The Canadiens defeated the Capitals 6-3 in a chaotic Game 3 — the first playoff game before a full Bell Centre since 2017 — that featured a bench brawl and both starting goalies sustaining injuries.

Duhaime tied the game 2-2 at 6:39 of the third period after some fortunate bounces from his shot at the side of the net. The goal followed a massive hit from Capitals heavy hitter Wilson on defenceman Alexandre Carrier, who later exited the game.

Montreal won the special teams battle, going 2-for-4 on the power play while killing off five