Washington, DC-With their power play dormant, Montreal was able to crank up their offense in the even strength game. Habs captain Brian Gionta scored a pair of goals to even things up at two apiece heading into the third period.
Gionta found himself in the middle of a two-on-one opportunity after a Caps defender fell down in the neutral zone. He chose to keep the puck himself and shoot it from the right circle, beating goalie Semyon Varlamov.
Following the goal, the Canadiens ramped up the pressure in the offensive zone and Gionta struck again on a breakaway to tie it up. John Carlson made a risky drop pass on the rush, resulting in a turnover and Gionta's marker.
The Canadiens poured 14 shots on Varlamov in the second period and controlled play as the Capitals took a pair of penalties and spent much of the period struggling to establish puck possession.
Washington opened the second period killing off their third penalty and Alex Ovechkin's second of the game. They are 4-4 while playing a man down tonight as the PK unit continues to live up to it's second place ranking in the league.