The Caps are stingy with 4C Nic Dowd deployed, too. One of the Capitals’ biggest strengths is that there were no weak links on defense. The Hurricanes are one of the few teams that could match that.

Nic Dowd’s overtime goal provided a 3-2 win in Game 1 at Capital One Arena for the Capitals to kickstart the postseason. Unfortunately, it was Washington’s only series lead in the 2021 Playoffs.

Watch Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Scott Laughton, right, and Ottawa Senators center Ridly Greig take to the ice on THursday, April 24 for Game 3 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs series.

Montembeault, like in Game 1, was arguably the Canadiens' best player, turning aside 29 of the 31 shots he faced, including Anthony Beauvillier on a quality scoring chance in the first and Nic ...

The Capitals are built for this brand of hockey. The physicality was not a coincidence. “It’s going to pay dividends in the end,” said fourth-line center Nic Dowd, who had three hits.

The Capitals are built for this brand of hockey. The physicality was not a coincidence. “It’s going to pay dividends in the end,” said fourth-line center Nic Dowd, who had three hits.

The Capitals are built for this brand of hockey. The physicality was not a coincidence. “It’s going to pay dividends in the end,” said fourth-line centre Nic Dowd, who had three hits.

The Capitals are built for this brand of hockey. The physicality was not a coincidence. “It’s going to pay dividends in the end,” said fourth-line center Nic Dowd, who had three hits.

The Capitals are built for this brand of hockey. The physicality was not a coincidence. “It’s going to pay dividends in the end,” said fourth-line center Nic Dowd, who had three hits.

In their second-to-last game of the regular season, the Capitals returned to the scene of Alex Ovechkin’s record-breaker and got a 3-1 win over the Islanders.

Columbus (36-33-9, 81 points) is holding on to slim hopes for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot. The Blue Jackets trail the Montreal Canadiens by six points with four games to play.