Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery credited goalie Logan Thompson as being "the difference" in Wednesday's 3-1 Game 2 victory after the Montreal Canadiens ran the show in the final frame.
"He wins us that game in the third period," Carbery said after Washington took a 2-0 series lead. "(Habs netminder Sam) Montembeault was fantastic in the first 40 (minutes). ... You're playing with fire if you're not able to capitalize and execute and find a way to get that game to 2-1, 3-1, 4-1.
"You let a team stay right there within a goal. We obviously do a really poor job of managing that game in the third period."
The Capitals held a 2-1 lead entering the last stanza and limited Montreal to 12 shots through the first two frames, but the underdogs threw everything they could at Washington over the final 20 minutes. The Habs fired 14 shots on net while holding a 3-0 edge in high-danger chances and a 34-15 advantage in shot attempts at all strengths, per Natural Stat Trick.
Thompson rose to the occasion and made a bevy of difficult saves, including on a dangerous rush chance by forward Josh Anderson and a particularly clutch kick save on a deflected puck with less than five minutes to go.
Capitals center Connor McMichael allowed Washington to breathe with an empty-netter in the dying seconds.
All in, Thompson saved 1.47 goals above expected during the contest and made 25 saves on 26 shots.
"He's dialed. ... (He's) always going to battle for us, we know that," Washington veteran Tom Wilson said of Thompson's big game. "He made some huge saves, timely saves. Bit of a highlight reel there, for sure."
Thompson was similarly outstanding in Game 1, turning aside 33 of 35 shots. His strong postseason starts come after he missed the last seven games of the regular season with an upper-body issue.
Though Thompson won the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, he didn't get to suit up during that run due to an injury.
Thompson's first taste of playoff action came last spring, when he logged a .921 save percentage in four games during Vegas' first-round loss to the Dallas Stars.
"It didn't really end the way I wanted it to, so to get another chance at it, I'm hungry, and I'm thankful for this opportunity," he said Wednesday.
Thompson requested a trade out of Sin City last summer in search of more playing time, and the 28-year-old has made it worth Washington's while.
"He's been huge for us all season," forward Pierre-Luc Dubois said. "Tonight's another showcase of what he's done for us. ... He's played a lot of good games for us this year, and he's gonna play a lot of good games going forward."
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday in Montreal at 7 p.m. ET.
