Pack it up, pack it in, let me begin. Caps came to win, battle them that’s a sin.
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Paul Chiasson)

Capitals 6, Canadiens 3: So much for the vaunted home ice advantage that Montreal earned with a split at Verizon Center in Games 1 and 2. Bell Centre, the largest arena in the NHL with a capacity of 21,273, was silenced — perhaps for the season — as the Caps put six on the board and the first nail in the Canadiens’ coffin, taking a 3-1 series lead. Washington battled back from a 2-1 deficit with goals from Mike Knuble (shorthanded), Jason Chimera and Alex Ovechkin (his second of the game), before Knuble and Nicklas Backstrom added empty netters to put the game away. Ovechkin also broke an 0-15 power play drought with the Caps’ first goal of the game. Semyon Varlamov was very solid in net despite allowing three goals. Varlamov made 36 saves, and was especially good in the second period as Montreal threw 21 shots on goal. In the opposite net, Carey Price got the start in place of the shaky Jaroslav Halak and drew not one, but two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for firing pucks towards the Caps bench after Chimera’s and Backstrom’s goals. A Russian machine may never break; but the Montreal Canadiens’ collective psyche is certainly broken beyond repair.

Nationals 6, Rockies 4: The Nationals hopped back over .500 with their third come from behind win of the season. Wil Nieves was the hero of the day; his eighth inning double gave the Nats a 5-4 lead. Since last July, the Nationals are 20-14 when Nieves gets the start behind the plate — certainly a good sign for a team whose first-string catcher is 38 years old. The Nationals bullpen also continued an impressive April; Tyler Clippard (3-0, 0.77 ERA) provided two innings of scoreless ball, and Matt Capps struck out three in the ninth, setting a club record for most successful save opportunities (seven) to begin a season. On the down side, Ryan Zimmerman’s cranky hamstring flared up again, and the franchise third baseman left the game in the seventh inning.