Capital Gains in Net as Washington Takes Game 4

Montreal Canadiens coach Jacques Martin tapped Carey Price, a move that had both goalies who began the series in net on the bench at Bell Centre Wednesday night.

The back-up plan worked for only one squad.

Semyon Varlamov's 20 saves in a harried second period allowed the Washington Capitals to pull away in the third for a 6-3 victory and a 3-1 lead in the series. Meanwhile, Price was stung for two third-period goals, and his frustration boiled over as he was whistled for two unsportsmanlike penalties over the final eight minutes of regulation.

The Capitals allowed 21 shots in the second period, tying the mark for the most in the playoffs in franchise history. The lone goal allowed came off the stick of Brian Gionta on the power play.

Capitals Lead Series, 3-1
Capitals 6, Canadiens 3: Recap | Box Score | Series Page

"He was great," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "They had so many quality chances in the second period, if he's not on the top of his game they are probably going into [the third period] up 4-1. "

Varlamov is 3-0 since taking over for Jose Theodore in Game 2 with a .920 save percentage and 2.44 goals against average. Those stats are a slight improvement over his play from last year, where he also replaced Theodore early in the first-round series.

"He makes big saves," said Alex Ovechkin, who had two goals and an assist. "He kept us in the game and gave us a momentum until we had a chance to score. In the second period, we didn't play well. It was frustrating."

Price allowed four goals on 36 shots in place of Jaroslav Halak, and he also accounted for the most penalty minutes of any player in Game 4.

After Jason Chimera scored at 12:01 of the third period, Price fired the puck into the goal celebration to get his first minor. The second came with 11 seconds left in regulation when reached over the boards to slash Washington forward Nicklas Backstrom, who had just scored the Caps' second empty-net goal.