The moment Tom Wilson delivered that thunderous hit, everything changed.
Thirteen minutes remained in the third period Sunday night, and the Washington Capitals were on the verge of slipping into dangerous territory, down a goal, with the deafening roar of Bell Centre raining down on them. But then, Wilson — the heart and hammer of this resilient Capitals squad — lined up Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier at center ice and delivered a bone-rattling, clean hit that echoed through the arena and turned the tide.
Carrier lost control of the puck as the impact sent him sprawling. Suddenly, momentum — so elusive all night — swung violently in Washington’s favor. Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk scooped up the loose puck and quickly fed Jakob Chychrun, who arched a soaring pass toward winger Brandon Duhaime streaking up the ice. Duhaime corralled it brilliantly, danced past defenseman Mike Matheson, and jammed a rebound past goaltender Jakub Dobes to tie the game 6:39 into the final frame.
The stunned silence inside Bell Centre said it all.
The Capitals smelled blood — and they never looked back.
Andrew Mangiapane scored the winner with 3:37 left, and Duhaime and Wilson each buried empty-net goals, sealing a rousing 5-2 victory. Washington, now up 3-1 in this ferocious first-round series, heads back to Capital One Arena with a chance to close out the Canadiens on home ice Wednesday night.
“That hit,” Coach Spencer Carbery said, his voice thick with admiration, “completely changed everything. That’s Tom. He brings a fire you just can’t teach. Every guy in our room knows how much he means to us, especially in moments like this.”
Wilson’s play was the spark, but the backbone of the Capitals’ comeback was forged in the iron will of a team that refuses to break. In goal, Logan Thompson delivered a gutsy performance after a scary collision in Game 3 had forced him out. Diagnosed with a “bell rung,” Thompson passed concussion protocols and returned to turn away 16 of 18 shots — including a dazzling post-to-post robbery of Nick Suzuki that preserved Washington’s hope early on.
Dylan Strome, blood pumping and battle-hardened, scored early in the second period after a dogged play by Anthony Beauvillier created the chance. Strome’s backhander brought the Capitals their first lead of the night and sent a jolt of belief down their bench.
“I thought we did a good job of not letting the noise and the pressure get to us this time,” Strome said, reflecting on the intensity swirling in the historic arena. “We stayed calm. We stayed together.”
Yet Montreal refused to crumble. Slafkovsky’s tying goal and Caufield’s blistering one-timer on the power play swung momentum wildly back to the home side late in the second period. At the second intermission, the Capitals trudged into the locker room facing a one-goal deficit and a critical test of their character.
Carbery gathered his players, looked into their weary faces, and reminded them of who they were — warriors shaped by adversity, sharpened by countless battles.
“We’ve been through so much together this year,” he said afterward. “There’s nothing that could happen in that rink tonight that was bigger than the heart inside that room.”
It took just one seismic hit to unleash that heart.
Wilson’s crushing blow was followed by Duhaime’s equalizer, and from there, the Capitals’ relentless spirit overwhelmed the Canadiens. After back-and-forth rushes kept everyone on the edge of their seats, it was Mangiapane — seizing a perfect pass from Strome — who buried the wrist shot that would stand as the dagger.
Bell Centre, so raucous and alive hours earlier, fell silent once more — perhaps for the final time this season.
Montreal’s last desperate gasp came when they pulled Dobes for an extra attacker with under three minutes left. But Washington slammed the door emphatically: Duhaime scored into the empty net just eight seconds later, and Wilson — fittingly — followed with another with 54 seconds remaining, capping a night where his blend of physicality and leadership turned the game and maybe even the series.
