Tuch's Three-Point Night Edges Capitals Past Canadiens 5-4 in Hutson Brothers' First NHL Meeting

The Washington Capitals snapped out of their funk Wednesday night, edging the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 at Capital One Arena behind a three-point night from Alex Tuch, who has been everything Washington paid for when it acquired him from Buffalo this summer.

Tuch scored twice — including a shorthanded marker in the second period — and added an assist to pace the Capitals on the second night of a back-to-back for both clubs. Jordan Kyrou chipped in a goal and an assist, while Ivan Miroshnichenko and Justin Holl also found the net for Washington, which built a 5-3 lead in the third before surviving a late Montreal push.

The Canadiens kept answering. Josh Anderson scored twice — his third and fourth goals of the season — including a second-period marker that briefly tied the game, with Alex Newhook setting up both. Lane Hutson added a goal and an assist in a special evening for his family: the Montreal defenseman lined up against his younger brother Cole, a Capitals rookie, for the first time in an NHL game. Captain Nick Suzuki's power-play goal at 18:21 of the third pulled Montreal within one, but the comeback fell short.

In goal, Charlie Lindgren stopped 26 of 30 for Washington while Jakub Dobes made 18 saves on 23 shots for Montreal. A crowd of 16,719 watched the nine-goal shootout, a marked improvement for a Capitals side that had dropped its previous two games. Tuch, Kyrou and Anderson were named the game's three stars.