Washington 3, Montreal 0

Michal Neuvirth made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and sixth of his career as the Washington Capitals skated to a 3-0 win over the host Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

Alex Ovechkin locked up the win when he scored on the power play at 10:44 of the second period. The Washington captain unleashed a shot from the point past a screened Carey Price for his 19th of the season.

The Capitals opened a 2-0 lead in the first period, scoring on two of their first four shots.

Mathieu Perreault notched his fourth of the season at 4:41 when he used Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges as a screen and fired a shot over Price’s blocker.

Marcus Johansson added his 10th at 8:23 when he fought off Andrei Kostitsyn and flipped the puck over Price’s glove.

The Caps’ John Erskine received a rare triple minor in the third period – four minutes for high sticking and two for elbowing. The Canadiens, with the league’s worst power play, failed to generate anything on the extended man advantage - even taking a penalty of their own to nullify two of the final three minutes.

Montreal went 0-for-7 on the power play.

• Montreal will play their next game on the road against Montreal . The Canadiens have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .393 after a loss.
• Washington will play their next game on the road against Carolina . The Capitals have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .500 after a loss.