The Washington Capitals open their eyes on Saturday morning with a very real series on their hands against the Montreal Canadiens following last night’s 6-3 loss in Montreal. The Capitals were outplayed in most aspects of Game 3, including losing the shot count, the hit count, and most importantly, the final count on the oversized scoreboard at the Bell Centre. With the win, Montreal slices Washington’s series lead in half, 2-1, with an opportunity to even up the series at home on Sunday night. Charlie Lindgren, Come on Down One of the more concerning developments for Friday night was the third-period exit of Capitals goalie Logan Thompson following Juraj Slafkovsky’s goal. Washington’s top center, Dylan Strome, was defending the play but didn’t realize his skating was on a collision course with his netminder. As the puck deflected off his skate blade and into the net, Thompson was flattened by an unintentional friendly fire from Strome, resulting in a stick to the chin of his mask and a harsh fall to the frozen floor. Thompson needed assistance leaving the playing surface. BIENVENUE EN SÉRIES, JURAJ SLAFKOVSKY LIVE SLAF LOVE#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/H8Fa7ftJsB — x – Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 26, 2025 Charlie Lindgren made five saves and allowed a goal to finish Game 3 for Washington. If Lindren starts Game 4 for the Capitals, he has 234 minutes of playoff experience to lean on. The 31-year-old goalie was 0-4 with a 3.58 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .864 save percentage (SV%) in last year’s playoff sweep by the New York Rangers. Lindgren posted a 20-14-3 record with a 2.73 GAA and a .896 SV% over 39 games this season for Washington. Additional Discipline Inbound for Tom Wilson? In one of the wildest postseason season scenes in recent NHL history, Tom Wilson was engaged in a wrestling match with Josh Anderson that spilled from the ice and into the Capitals’ bench as the second period ended. Despite a linesman actively attempting to break up the scuffle, the 225-pound Wilson and the 226-pound Anderson pushed and shoved down the length of the bench and landed on the floor before cooler heads prevailed and the teams went their separate ways to the locker room for the second-period break. Over 30 penalty minutes were handed out at the end of the period, including 10-minute misconducts to both players, who watched most of the final period from the box. Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery witnessed the incident unfold in front of him after the second-period buzzer sounded at Bell Centre. “Well, I was on my way to walk across the ice,” Carbery said about exiting for the second intermission break. “So, I had to reverse my course and head back (onto the bench) because there were two large individuals coming through the door I was trying to exit. Just two competitive teams and two competitive guys going at it.” Given that the play spilled off the playing surface and onto the bench with an official involved, it will be interesting to see if the league imposes additional discipline. Wilson has a reputation with the NHL league office, including a May 2018 suspension for an illegal check that put him in the press box for three playoff contests. If suspended, it would be the tenth suspension in his 12-year career. Connor McMichael’s Scoring Touch Continued in Game 3 It’s not all bad news for Washington, as Connor McMichael’s brilliant season continued into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With his goal at 3:20 of the first period, McMichael recorded his third scoring celebration of the playoffs. The 24-year-old forward has been electric over the past two contests for Washington, including sealing the Game 2 victory with an empty-net goal. Following his first-period goal, McMichael had recorded three of the last four scores for Washington in the series. Connor McMichael, Washington Capitals (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers) McMichael has enjoyed a breakout season for the Capitals. He scored 26 goals and recorded 57 points over his 82-game season. Coach Carbery relied on the center more this season, as his average time on ice improved from 15:59 per game last season to 16:49 this season. The additional ice time has held true in the postseason, as well. McMichael has skated an average of 17:01, an increase from his 16:02 during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Related: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1 Hub If Washington hopes to avoid a tied series heading back home to Capital One Arena for Game 5 next week, they will need players like McMichael to continue to drive the offense for the Capitals. It doesn’t hurt much when you have the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, Alex Ovechkin, as a fallback plan. The 39-year-old Capitals winger has recorded three goals and an assist during the series.