Andrew Mangiapane scored the go-ahead goal with just under four minutes remaining, Brandon Duhaime had two goals and Logan Thompson made 16 saves to lead the Washington Capitals to a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens for a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

With a 5-2 win on Sunday, the Washington Capitals made anyone who thought Montreal could make a series out of their first-round matchup think again.

The Capitals cracked the code at Bell Centre, beating the Canadiens 5-2 and going up 3-1 in their first-round series.

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day our writers here at Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out.

If the answer is “no,” that’s OK. Montreal nearly backed its way into the playoffs and the Washington Capitals hit a rough patch of their own. Still, this matchup brings a whole bunch of juice — the most prolific goal scorer of all time, the East’s top team and the return of postseason hockey to one of the sport’s true epicenters.

Former Montreal Canadiens Player Believes Some believe that the <a href=" Canadiens are as good as buried down 2-0 ag