NHL: Montreal 4, Washington 1

MONTREAL, March 24 (UPI) -- Alex Kovalev scored two goals Saturday to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Tomas Plekanec and Michael Ryder also scored for the Canadiens, who had four unanswered goals to keep pace with Carolina for the eighth and final playoff spot in the NHL Eastern Conference.

Montreal and Carolina both have 84 points, but if the playoffs started now, the Canadiens would have the final playoff berth due to a higher win total.

Jaroslav Halak had 27 saves as Montreal won for the sixth time in its last seven games.

Chris Clark scored Washington's only goal. Olaf Kolzig had 36 saves for the Capitals, who have lost 12 of their last 14 games.