Game 3 in the series against the Montreal Canadiens proved to be a much better game for the Washington Capitals. Niklas Backstrom wasn't needed. The first period ended 0-0 but was intense. As expected, Bruce Boudreau gave Semyon Varlamov the start in goal. He got a workout, including a Montreal powerplay where the Caps goalie saw as much action as his counterpart across the ice. The crowd at the Bell Centre was obviously behind the Habs and were very loud througout the first period and going into the second.
The second period proved much more productive for the Caps. The combination of Boyd Gordon, Brooks Laich, Eric Fehr, and Alex Ovechkin scored in this period. Gordon got his shorthanded. Laich, Fehr, and Ovechkin scored at full strength. After the Fehr goal, the Canadiens opted to pull Jaroslav Halack in favor of Carey Price. It was bad toward the end of the period as Tomas Plekanec took a 2 minute penalty for interference and then got another 2 on top for unsportsmanlike conduct after complaining about it. They definitely lost control.
Calmer heads prevailed in the third. Montreal got their act together and scored a powerplay goal to bring it to 4-1. But that was all they could muster. Matt Bradley provided one more with 44 seconds left in the game to bring it to a close at 5-1.
Definitely a better show from Washington today. While the first period was tight, the second blew the game open and the Caps showed why they are the best team in the East. While it was great to see the Caps spread the scoring around, the stars are still not shining bright. Ovechkin got a goal, but missing tonight were scoring from Backstrom or Mike Green. Boudreau appeared to make the right choice in goal tonight, although he had said earlier in the day that he might swap Jose Theodore and Varlamov in and out. It's still the question of when he might rest Varlamov in favor of Theodore. Game 4 in Montreal will still be an interesting call for goaltender.
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