Takeaways: Capitals Rally For Point, But Fall To Canadiens

WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals did what they could and escaped with a point, but recent struggles were on display again in a tough loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

Lars Eller and Jakob Chychrun scored, but Nick Suzuki had the overtime winner in a 3-2 loss.

Here are all the takeaways.

Frank Pulls Capitals Into Fight, Shines In NHL Debut

With Washington trailing 2-1 after a rough go in the second period (we'll get to that in a moment), Ethen Frank, making his NHL debut after a long, winding road to the pros with the Hershey Bears, pulled his team into the fight.

Frank beat out an icing call and took possession of the puck before feeding Lars Eller, who sniped home his eighth goal of the season.

The primary assist — which came in the most Ethen Frank fashion — marked his first career NHL point.

From that point on, Washington got more fight in its game, but ultimately, it wasn't enough in the overtime loss.

Lindgren Injured, Capitals Fall Apart In Abysmal Second Period

Opening the second on the penalty kill, Charlie Lindgren ended up on the wrong end of a collision, as Brandon Duhaime pushed Nick Suzuki into the Capitals netminder, sending him hard to the ice.

Lindgren was shaken up and ultimately pulled from the game, as Logan Thompson took over in his place.

From there, Washington's play fell apart.

The Capitals took a couple of undisciplined penalties, and ultimately, Cole Caufield tied the game as the Canadiens tilted the ice, outshooting Washington 14-4 in the middle frame.

Despite back-to-back power-play opportunities in the second, the Capitals couldn't get much going, and a Rasmus Sandin turnover on the man advantage led to a shorthanded breakaway goal for Josh Anderson.

It marked the second straight game that Washington let things get out of hand, and though the team recovered against Vancouver back on Wednesday, it wasn't enough.

It's hard to fault Thompson, who wasn't ready to start and made

Chychrun Stays Hot

The Capitals got off to the start they were looking for, with Jakob Chychrun staying red-hot and scoring once again.

Chychrun picked up a turnover at the point on the power play, and with everyone focused on a wide-open Alex Ovechkin teed up for the one-timer, he rifled a shot past Jakub Dobes to make it 1-0.

It marked Chychrun's 11th goal of the season, and he now sits in third place in scoring among defensemen this season. The 26-year-old also has 21 points in his last 22 games.