Takeaways: Mantha, Protas Power Capitals Past Canadiens In Back-And-Forth Thriller

Of late, the Washington Capitals have seen their hockey improve, but the results haven't gone their way. That changed on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens, and a lot of the credit is owed to the "McProMo" trio.

Anthony Mantha and Aliaksei Protas each had a goal and assist and the Capitals overcame some adversity for a 4-3 win over the Canadiens.

Here are all the takeaways from the game, which keeps D.C. six points out of Wild Card territory.

Aliaksei Protas had an impressive start to the 2023-24 campaign but saw his play drop off as time went on. He turned it on Saturday, though, and his first goal in 29 games came at a crucial time for D.C.

After surrendering the third game-tying goal of the night, Protas got to the front and buried a rebound to make it a 4-3 game for the Capitals. It marked his fourth goal of the season, and he also put up yet another multi-point outing to help the Capitals capture two critical points.

At the end of the day, the "McProMo" line was the best unit on the ice, as Mantha — in his home province — and Protas, along with Connor McMichael, put in the work to make things happen offensively and keep the pressure high on the forecheck.

Washington did have to come up big in the final minutes, though, as Tom Wilson took a high-sticking penalty with 1:27 to go in regulation.

After giving up a game-tying power-play goal earlier in the frame to Nick Suzuki, the Capitals penalty kill had to be sharp at 6-on-4, and Beck Malenstyn, Nic Dowd, John Carlson and Nick Jensen made the most of their ice time to shut things down.

Carlson himself had a monster of a game, skating a team-leading 29:07, attempting seven shots and leading the team with four blocks, including a huge one at the buzzer to secure the win.

Darcy Kuemper was also strong to finish the game, stopping 28 of 31 on the night en route to the win.

Washington was making an impressive push on offense over the course of he game, but the team was again on the wrong side of bounces and had to work for things to go their way while giving up three different leads over the course of the night.

That proved especially true in the second, where D.C. outshot and outplayed Montreal but went to the room tied 2-2 after Beck Malenstyn's blocked shot resulted in a rebound goal for Alex Newhook.

Ultimately, it was Sonny Milano, playing in his first game in over two months following an upper-body injury, who broke the stalemate and got the team over the two-goal mark in the third.

At the end of a productive shift with Max Pacioretty and Mike Sgarbossa, Milano got to the front and used his quick hands and high hockey IQ to tip Pacioretty's bid past Jake Allen and put D.C. in front 3-2.

While the lead didn't last long after Nick Suzuki scored a power-play goal minutes later, which came off another unfortunate bounce off Trevor van Riemsdyk, the Capitals got to work in the offensive zone and, ultimately, got a bounce to go their way as Protas scored the go-ahead goal.

Some of Washington's main issues this year have stemmed from lackluster starts to game action, and the team was sure to change that on Saturday and had a solid opening 20 minutes against the Canadiens.

Mantha got the Capitals on the board first, putting in an easy lay-up off to make it 1-0 after an impressive forecheck from his "McProMo" trio. It marked Mantha's 17th goal of the season, and he has scored his team's first of the night a team-leading 12 times this season. He also hit the 28-point mark, his highest total with D.C. since being acquired in 2021.

Though Washington gave up a quick goal just over a minute later after Arber Xhekaj beat Darcy Kuemper on a blast from the point, the Capitals kept their foot on the gas and didn't let up on the pressure. Their pushback led to a power-play opportunity, where T.J. Oshie scored his 10th of the season and 300th career goal to restore the lead for D.C.

Oshie and teammate Dylan Strome now have points in three of their last four games, and Alex Ovechkin also assisted on Oshie's goal, extending his point streak to eight games. His goal streak did end, though, at seven games.

While Washington got off to the start it wanted, it suffered an unfortunate setback in the injury department.

Just minutes into the game, Martin Fehervary lost an edge as he went to skate behind his net, and his leg buckled under him as he suffered a lower-body injury after just two shifts.

Fehervary was slow to get up and made his way to the bench before eventually being helped off the ice by Mantha and head athletic trainer Jason Serbus during a stoppage in play. He was not putting much weight on his left leg and did not return to the game, where he logged just 1:36 minutes before being hurt.

It's unclear what the severity of the injury is at this time, but it's a tough blow for the Capitals, as Fehervary plays a pivotal, physical role on that top defensive pairing.

- Nick Jensen picked up a secondary assist for his first point in 10 games.

- Former Canadiens Pacioretty and Joel Edmundson assisted on Milano's goal. Pacioretty has eight assists since returning from a re-torn Achilles.

- Nic Dowd picked up an assist to extend his point streak to three games.