The Capitals’ old guard also did its part. An ageless wonder at 39 years old, Ovechkin followed up a 44-goal regular season, including his NHL record-breaking 895th goal on April 6, by leading Washington with four goals in the series. After being held without a point in the four-game loss to the Rangers in the first round last season — the only time he hasn’t gotten at least one point in a postseason series in his 20-season NHL career — Ovechkin had five against the Canadiens.
“For him to break the (goal) record and then be able to reset and refocus and now, ‘This is what means more to me than the record,’ is amazing in itself,” Carbery said. “To get himself to the spot where he played this playoffs compared to last year, it’s night and day, and he’s a year older. He’s 39 years old, and that’s just a credit to him.
“He just continues to do things that you just can’t wrap your head around in this sport, in this league, and at the most difficult time of the year.”
Ovechkin pointed to Wilson’s big hit on Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier seconds before Duhaime’s tying goal in the third period of Game 4 as the turning point in the series. Wilson was a focal point and a physical force throughout the series, tying Ovechkin for second on the Capitals with 19 hits (behind Duhaime’s 20) and contributing five points (two goals, three assists), including his power-play goal that increased their lead to 3-0 at 16:59 of the second period Wednesday.
“There’s ups and downs in a playoff series,” Wilson said. “But I think for the most part we were pretty focused, and we were pretty diligent, and we went out and got the job done.”
The Capitals will move onto their next assignment, the Hurricanes, in the coming days, but what they learned in getting past the pesky Canadiens could have value for a team that hopes that it’s just getting started on a long postseason run.
“We have a great culture and a great core here,” Wilson said. “But all those pieces that have come in this offseason and built this team is kind of what it’s all about. So, we’ve had a really fun time as a group and we’ll just keep moving forward.”
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