Thompson dazzles late as the Capitals beat the Canadiens in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead

WASHINGTON (AP) — Connor McMichael and Dylan Strome scored a minute apart early in the second period, Logan Thompson made some spectacular stops among his 25 saves and the Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series.

Thompson was at his best in the third, notably robbing Josh Anderson of what would have been the tying goal on a 2-on-0 breakaway with 10:59 left, then later getting his stick on a deflection by Christian Dvorak. Fans chanted “L-T! L-T!” and gave the goaltender a standing ovation in honor of his performance in just his second game back from injury.

"He shut the door when we needed it most," Strome said. “He was unbelievable, especially in the last five minutes.”

Until that point, Thompson did not have much work to do as his teammates outshot Montreal 18-8 in the second when Washington tilted the ice toward Sam Montembeault. McMichael added his second of the game into an empty net with 1.1 seconds left.

McMichael and Strome scoring turned the tide in favor of the Capitals, who after an uneven start looked every bit like the top team in the Eastern Conference and one of the best in the NHL this season. They controlled the puck for long stretches and got to the middle of the ice in front of Montembeault easily and with little resistance from a smaller and less experienced opponent.

Still, Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis liked elements of his team's game, including the play that led to Dvorak's goal that opened the scoring and the pressure put on the Capitals.

“It’s can you maximize those touches, those scoring chances — they’ve done that better than we have so far,” St. Louis said. I believe in the group. I think both goalies were great tonight. It’s a fine line between winning and losing."

Montembeault, like in Game 1, was arguably the Canadiens' best player, turning aside 29 of the 31 shots he faced, including Anthony Beauvillier on a quality scoring chance in the first and Nic Dowd on a shorthanded odd-man rush in the second. Cracking him twice allowed Washington to take control of the series.

“It was a tight game, but, yeah, a huge win,” captain Alex Ovechkin said. “They play hard, we play hard. It’s the playoffs. All the small details gonna count.”

Game 3 is Friday night in Montreal, marking the return of playoff hockey with Bell Centre full of fans. The last time that happened was 2017 because the Habs' 2021 run to the Stanley Cup Final came when pandemic restrictions limited capacity to a crowd of 3,500.

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Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson stops the puck in the third period of Game 1 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson stops the puck in the third period of Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson, left, celebrates with defenseman Rasmus Sandin (38) after Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (48) celebrates with center Connor McMichael (24) and others after Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson deflects the puck in the third period of Game 1 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome, front, skates with the puck past Montreal Canadiens right wing Josh Anderson, back, in the first period of Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson (8) battles for the puck against Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) in the second period of Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) shoots the puck in the first period of Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Anthony Beauvillier (72) reaches for the puck past Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) in the first period of Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals center Nic Dowd (26) battles for the puck against Montreal Canadiens left wing Emil Heineman (51) and defenseman David Savard (58) in the first period of Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Montreal Canadiens center Christian Dvorak (28) scores a goal against Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (48) in the second period of Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (48) stops the puck in the second period of Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals center Connor McMichael (24) celebrates his goal in the second period of Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome (17) celebrates his goal in the second period of Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

It was late in the afternoon and lightly snowing when four rock climbers, working their way up a steep gully between two peaks in Washington’s North Cascades Range, decided to turn around for a descent down the mountain that would claim three of their lives.

As they climbed down, the four attached their ropes to an piton — a metal spike pounded into rock cracks or ice and used to secure ropes — that had been placed by a past climber. As one of the men began rappelling off the piton, it ripped out of the mountain, sending all four falling past ice and snow and rock.

They fell some 200 feet (60 meters), landing in a more sloping ravine where they tumbled for another roughly 200 feet before coming to a stop in a tangle of rope.

Three were killed by the fall. One was knocked unconscious.

Anton Tselykh awoke in the dark. It had been hours since the fall.

Over the course of several hours, he extricated himself from the tangle of ropes, gear and debris and trekked over rough terrain of rock and snow — with help from a pick-like ice tool — to his car.

He drove for some 40 miles (64 kilometers) before finding a pay phone and calling for help in Newhalem, an unincorporated community about an hour's drive away. It was Sunday morning, eight hours since he regained consciousness.

From a Seattle hospital Wednesday morning, Tselykh, recovering from head trauma and internal bleeding, told authorities what had happened. He was in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center, meaning he was not in the intensive care unit, Susan Gregg, media relations director for UW Medicine, said in an email.

Tselykh, 38, confirmed authorities' theories of what led to the deaths of his three companions, identified as Vishnu Irigireddy, 48; Tim Nguyen, 63; and Oleksander Martynenko, 36.

A three-person search and rescue team had responded to the site of the fall following Tselykh's call, said Cristina Woodworth, who led the team and spoke with the lone survivor by phone Wednesday. The team had followed coordinates from a GPS device the climbers had been carrying, which were shared by a friend of the men.

The rough terrain required a helicopter, which removed the bodies one at a time, Woodworth said.

Responders pored over the recovered equipment, trying to decipher what caused the fall. They found the piton still clipped into the climbers’ ropes, Okanogan County Coroner Dave Rodriguez said. Pitons are difficult to remove from rock, he said, and the anchor's presence on the rope was a clue to what happened.

Generally, setting up a backup anchor is a common practice among climbers, said Joshua Cole, a guide and co-owner of North Cascades Mountain Guides, who has been climbing in the area for about 20 years. It's still unclear whether the four had a backup.

The four climbers were friends, some of whom had climbed together before and appeared fairly experienced, Woodworth said, adding that Tselykh was “obviously very much affected by this.”

Irigireddy was a vice president of engineering at the Fluke Corporation, a test equipment manufacturing company, which released a statement Wednesday.

“Vishnu was an extraordinary leader, and his loss is felt profoundly across our organization,” the statement read.

Martynenko’s wife, Olga, said Tuesday in a Facebook post that her husband, whom she referred to as Alex, also left behind their son. She shared a link to a fundraiser to help “during the most devastating time of our lives.”

“I still cannot believe that you are gone, my love."

Bedayn is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

The Okanogan County Search and Rescue team responds to a climbing accident in the North Cascades mountains in Washington on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Okanogan County Sheriff's Office via AP)

The Okanogan County Search and Rescue team responds to a climbing accident in the North Cascades mountains in Washington on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Okanogan County Sheriff's Office via AP)

The Okanogan County Search and Rescue team responds to a climbing accident in the North Cascades mountains in Washington on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Okanogan County Sheriff's Office via AP)