All of a sudden, Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty can't stop scoring.
Pacioretty tallied two more goals Friday night, including the game winner, to give Montreal a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals.
The Canadiens' captain has now scored six goals in his past six games and seemingly forgotten about the lengthy scoring drought (1 goal in 22 games) that plagued his final two months of 2017.
Pacioretty opened the scoring Friday on the power play near the midway point of the second period. He received a touch pass from Jonathan Drouin and ripped the puck into the top corner of the net past a helpless Philipp Grubauer.
Capitals defenseman John Carlson responded with a power play tally of his own in the second period to even the score at 1-1, but Montreal grabbed momentum back in the third. Paul Byron scored his 13th goal of the season halfway through the final frame to give the Canadiens the lead for good.
With less than 90 seconds to play, Pacioretty looked set to put the game on ice, but he was taken out by a T.J. Oshie slash as he skated towards the Capitals' empty net. As the referee held his hand up for the delayed penalty call, the 29-year-old somehow got back to his feet, found the puck and backhanded it home to put Montreal up 3-1.
Lars Eller scored against his former team 24 seconds later to set up a nervy finish for the Canadiens, but Montreal held on for the two points. Antti Niemi stopped 24 of the 26 shots that he faced to earn his first win in a Montreal uniform.
The Canadiens (19-21-6) will return to the ice Saturday night when they host the Boston Bruins at Bell Centre. The Capitals (28-15-4) will look to bounce back against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday in D.C.