Montreal Canadiens light up Bell Centre with commanding Game 3 victory over Washington Capitals

The Montreal Canadiens put on a show to remember in front of a packed Bell Centre audience, posting six goals in a thrilling 6-3 win over the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference First Round playoff series. The enthusiastic fans, having their home playoff game in 2017, made the atmosphere loud as it fueled the Montreal Canadiens for a much-desired victory. Even though the Washington Capitals were leading the best-of-seven series 2-1, the spirit in Montreal could not be helped.
Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky , and Nick Suzuki share about frenzied playoff energy
Right from the beginning, the din within Bell Centre was ear-shattering. Defenseman Lane Hutson has called it “crazy”, and forward Juraj Slafkovsky agreed, and captain Nick Suzuki described it as “emotional”. Winger Cole Caufield summed it up as briefly “energetic”, only capturing the spirit of the night when the Montreal Canadiens proceeded to put on an overwhelming show of performance.
Forwards Montreal Canadiens players Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky formed the top-scoring trio. Caufield led with 11 shot attempts, ending with a tie-breaking winning goal in the second period late that saw the Canadiens take a 3-2 lead. Slafkovsky added a goal of his own and kept impressing with five shots, motivating teammates and fans in tow.
Fights, injuries, and emergency goalie drama add flavor to Game 3 mayhem
Game 3 was not lacking in drama. Both starting goalies, Montreal Canadiens' Sam Montembeault and Washington Capitals' Logan Thompson, left the game injured. Montreal's backup, Jakub Dobes, was summoned into emergency duty, entering the game in the middle of the second period and standing firm against heavy pressure.
The physicality came to a boil late in the second period when Canadiens forward Josh Anderson and Capitals veteran Tom Wilson fought into the Washington bench, with an official having to break up the melee. Juraj Slafkovsky conceded he was drawn to enter the fray, referring to the incident as “nuts”.
The sold-out Bell Centre crowd, already operating at rock concert-level decibel readings during warmups, reached a fever pitch when defenseman Alexandre Carrier tied the game late in the first period, setting the tone for the Canadiens’ relentless effort the rest of the night.
Montreal Canadiens seek to gain momentum going into Game 4
Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki praised the team's calm composure after Alex Ovechkin temporarily levelled the score at 3-3 with minutes left in the third period. Rather than faltering, the Canadiens maintained pressure and broke away for the decisive victory.
Also read: Montreal Canadiens count on Bell Centre energy to fuel comeback against Washington Capitals
The Canadiens and Capitals will then meet again on Sunday during Game 4, as Montreal will try to tie up the series and continue riding the momentum created by the charged atmosphere of their home crowd.