Montreal Canadiens Survive Game Five With 2-1 Victory Over Capitals

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Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Montreal went back to Jaroslav Halak and the moved paid off as he came up with 37 saves to help the Canadiens stay alive with a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Halak, benched in Game 4 after starting the first three games and being pulled from net halfway through Game 3, allowed just one goal to Alex Ovechkin as the Canadiens kept their playoff hopes alive and now trail the Capitals, 3-2, in the best-of-seven set.

Travis Moen and Michael Cammalleri each had a goal for the Canadiens, who won the first game of this series in overtime, but proceeded to drop the next three.

Semyon Varlamov, starting his third straight game after relieving Jose Theodore in Game 2, stopped 26 shots for top-seeded Washington.

The series heads back to Montreal where Game 6 will be played on Monday.

Montreal struck 90 seconds into the game as Andrei Markov sent a backhand pass from the left boards to the inside left circle where Cammalleri’s quick wrister found its way past Varlamov.

At the 7:01 mark of the first, the Habs took a 2-0 lead. Brian Gionta chipped the puck out front from behind the net as he was getting hit and Moen was able to backhand the puck into the left corner of the net.

Washington controlled play for much of the remainder of the opening period, but Halak was able to keep them off the board thanks to his 15 saves.

The Caps continued to apply pressure to start the second period and their worked paid off 3:52 in. A slap shot by John Carlson at the right point found its way through a maze of players, hit off the skate of Mike Knuble in front and Ovechkin was able to jam home the rebound to make it a 2-1 game.

Varlamov kept his team in the game with 10 saves in the middle stanza.

Washington was awarded a power play 5:15 into the third when Benoit Pouliot was called for holding, but Halak came up with several saves during the man advantage, including a stop on a point-blank shot from Tomas Fleischmann.

The Caps had several more opportunities through the third period, but a too many men on the ice call with 1:07 to play effectively killed any chance the team had of tying the game.

Halak finished the final period with 12 saves for the win.