The Capitals (31-10-5) continue to flex their muscles as the best team in the Eastern Conference as they saw another stellar performance from goaltender Logan Thompson who has now allowed just one goal in the past three games.
The Capitals got the 4-1 win over their rival Pittsburgh Penguins (19-21-8) courtesy of goals from Jakob Chychrun (13), Aliaksei Protas (19), Pierre-Luc Dubois (8), and Brandon Duhaime (6). The game also marked Capitals forward Tom Wilson's 800th career game.
Toronto Maple Leafs 7-3 Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens got out to a three-goal lead in the first period before the Maple Leafs unloaded seven straight goals by seven different players across the second and third periods to stun a Canadiens home crowd.
Goals scored by Toronto were: Bobby McMann (13), Nicholas Robertson (8), William Nylander (27), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (3), Auston Matthews (18), Steven Lorentz (5), and David Kampf (3).
After losing three straight, the Maple Leafs have now won their past two games with a +5 point differential.
Pair of shootouts
The Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins 6-5 after penalty shots. The high-scoring game started with two goals for Ottawa before Boston responded with two of their own in the first period. Boston took the 3-2 lead in the second before the Senators tied it back up with a power play goal by Josh Norris (16).
Then Boston scored two straight to take a 5-3 lead before Nick Jensen (3) and Norris (17) tied it all up at five for the Senators to send it to overtime. Tim Stutzle scored the only goal of the shootout to give Ottawa their fourth win in the past five games.
Meanwhile, in a much lower-scoring affair, the New York Rangers beat the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 1-0 after Vincent Trocheck scored the lone goal of the shootout between both teams.
Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin stopped 27 shots on net and every attempt from the Blue Jackets during the shootout.
Around the league
The Philadelphia Flyers beat the New Jersey Devils 3-1 while the Nashville Predators extended their win streak to four games after a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Wild. Colorado Avalanche took home a 6-3 win against the Dallas Stars.
The Anaheim Ducks were shut out for the third time in the past five games after losing to the Florida Panthers 3-0. The Tampa Bay Lightning won their third game of the last four with a 5-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
Out in the west, the Calgary Flames ended the Winnipeg Jets' three-game win streak after winning 3-1 while the New York Islanders defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-1.
Chicago upset the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 thanks to a pair of power-play goals by Tyler Bertuzzi (16) and the Utah Hockey Clubs took down the St. Louis Blues 4-2.