The Washington Capitals have had trouble scoring lately, but they remedied that situation early and often Friday.
Jason Chimera and Alex Ovechkins cored 16 seconds apart in the second period to give the Caps a 3-0 lead over the Montreal Canadiens after 40 minutes.
Chimera's 16th goal of the season at 8:42 gave the Caps a 2-0 lead. Chimera took a breakout pass from Alexander Semin and cut down the center of the ice. Chimera tucked a backhand past Carey Price as the latter slid into the goal. Chimera is just two goals away from setting a career-high.
Sixteen seconds later, Ovechkin extended the lead to 3-0. Ovechkin's 25th goal of the season was the product of finishing a tic-tac-toe sequence with Dmitry Orlov and Marcus Johansson. He has 24 points in his last 26 games and is the third active player in the NHL to score at least 25 goals in each of his first seven seasons.