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Montreal goalie Carey Price looks for the puck in his crease as Washington forward Brooks Laich moves in for a rebound during action Wednesday at Bell Centre. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)

Montreal forward Tomas Plekanec scored his second goal of the game with just eight seconds left in overtime for a 6-5 home victory on Wednesday night, ending Washington’s marathon winning streak.

Plekanec was set on both goals by Sergei Kostitsyn. On the overtime winner, Kostitsyn worked his way down the left boards and fed his linemate at the edge of the crease.

Tom Pyatt and Scott Gomez each scored a goal and an help as Montreal led 5-2 after two periods at Bell Centre, but the Capitals fought back furiously in a bid to win their 15th consecutive victory.

Glen Metropolit and Maxim Lapierre also scored for Montreal, with goalie Carey Price making saves 33 in his first start since Jan. 27.

Washington forward Brooks Laich beat Price for a hat trick goal with 18 seconds left in the third to send the game in overtime, with Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green also scoring for the Capitals.

Alex Ovechkin drew two assists and now has 88 points to lead the league.

The Capitals were looking to match the New York Islanders of 1981-82, who posted 15 straight wins for the second best NHL streak ever. Pittsburgh won 17 straight in 1992-93.

It should be pointed out but, that the Penguins won in an era without the shootout, while the Islanders’ streak came before shootout and the overtime period.

There were nervous moments late in the first when Montreal defenceman Josh Gorges lay motionless after taking a Green blast off his head. Gorges was able to make it to his skates, although he needed much help from the training staff before departing for the night.

Montreal shook off the score to score three in the middle period — including two in 12 seconds — after Washington coach Bruce Boudreau opted to pull Michael Neuvirth in favour of former Canadien Jose Theodore. Neuvirth hadn’t been overly sloppy, but it was unclear if he was nursing an injury.

At least three of Montreal’s goals could be attributed to the Canadiens outworking the Capitals in the trenches.

The Habs were up 4-2 when it looked like Washington got one back, but officials ruled that Ovechkin had planted huge Hal Gill into Price, impeding his ability to stop the puck.

Montreal (29-26-6) went past idle Tampa Bay and into sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens have won four of five.

Gomez caught Neuvirth off the near post to send a wrister into the net just seconds in, Montreal’s first goal in over 70 minutes after getting shut out against Boston in their last game.

Pyatt and Gionta set up the goal by outworking the Capitals on the boards, with Washington allowing the first goal for the ninth time in the last 15 games.

The home team had been carrying the play for the first six minutes, but the Capitals showed their quick-strike ability. The Canadiens got caught standing in their own end, with Laich picking up the puck in the slot and deking Price for a 1-1 score.

Green, often maligned for his defensive play, sprawled later in the period to foil a shorthanded 2-on-1 for Montreal.

Green then unleashed the shot that hit Gorges, drawing concern from both team.

Pyatt swooped in for a rebound just 41 seconds into the second, another goal set up by Montreal being more insistent along the boards.

Ovechkin started a play right after the ensuing face off in which four Capitals touched the puck on a dizzying pass play. Backstrom was the goal scorer, and he at the end of the night his nine-game point streak had a ledger of five goals and 14 assists.

Theodore came in and was steady on a Monreal power play, later finding himself in the epicentre at the 12-minute mark when Pyatt and two teammates had whacks at the puck in close.

But Washington’s Brendan Morrison went to the box for tripping and Montreal capitalized. David Desharnais registered his first NHL point by feeing a cross-crease pass to Metropolit for an simple putaway at 12:45.

Right after the next face off, the puck bounced around wildly at the Washington blue line and Montreal gained the zone. Lapierre would snap the puck home from the slot for his fifth of the season, a play the Capitals thought was off side.

After Mike Knuble’s redirect past Price was ruled off due to the Ovechkin hit on Gill, the Capitals went on the power play.

Ovechkin rang a shot off the post and then was denied by Price on another bid.

It was a key save because Sergei Kostitsyn would win a puck battle along the boards in the Washington end to set up Plekanec’s snapper with just 1:04 left in the second.

Green blasted a shot from the point home just 16 seconds into the third, with Laich scoring twice in the final 11 minutes. His second goal came on an individual effort down the right side just as Montreal power play lapsed, and he redirected Knuble’s pass from the corner through Price’s pads to at least earn the Capitals a point.

Montreal starts a home-and-home in Philadelphia on Friday, returning to Bell Centre on Saturday against the Flyers (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7 p.m. ET).

Raptors forward Reggie Evans (30) receives instructions from teammate Jose Calderon as he enters the game on Wednesday. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)

The Toronto Raptors won their eighth in a row at home Wednesday, surviving a furious fourth-quarter comeback from Philadelphia to beat the 76ers 104-93 on Wednesday night.

Chris Bosh led the Raptors with 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Andrea Bargnani added 16, including an vital three-pointer late.

Sonny Weems and DeMar DeRozan each scored 14 points for Toronto (29-23).

Forward Reggie Evans, a former 76er, played his first regular-season game for the Raptors and finished with two points. He had been out with a sprained left foot suffered in an Oct. 14 pre-season game.

The crowd started to cheer and chant “Reggie, Reggie” as Evans prepared to enter the game with 7:43 to play in the second quarter.

Evans picked up three quick rebounds and scored his first points on a hook shot with 4:25 left in the half. Then with 3:37, left he picked up an help on Wright’s dunk.

The Raptors led at the half 50-41, thanks in large part to Bosh’s 10 points. They shot 52.2 per cent from the floor and Philadelphia shot 46.2 per cent.

Toronto scored the first nine points of the third and led 78-63 heading to the fourth.

Louis Williams scored 26 points for the 76ers, including 14 in the fourth quarter. Thaddeus Young added 15 for Philadelphia.

The 76ers (20-32), winners of five in a row coming in, trailed by as many as 23 in the third quarter and entered the fourth down by 15.

They cut the lead to five points when Elton Brand made two free throws to make it 86-81 with 5:20 to play.

Williams hit a three-pointer with 3:45 to play and scored on a driving lay-up with 3:18 left to pull the 76ers to within four at 90-86.

After Bargnani made one of two free throws, Williams hit another three with 2:52 left to cut the lead to 91-89. Bosh hit two free throws, but Williams again cut the lead to two and Young tied it at 93-93 with 2:06 to go.

But the Raptors’ Jose Calderon was fouled by Willie Green on a three-point attempt and made the ensuing free throw to make it 97-93. After Antoine Wright came up with a steal for Toronto, Bargnani hit a three-pointer with 41 seconds left to seal it and send the crowd of 16,651 at Air Canada Centre into a frenzy.

Equalled franchise record

With the win, the Raptors equalled a club record of 29 victories at the all-star break.

In the 2001-2002 season, the Raptors won 29 times in 50 games before the NBA all-star break.

The Raptors led 30-24 after a free-wheeling first quarter in which they shot 60 per cent from the field and the 76ers shot 57 per cent.

Robbie Dixon flies down the course Wednesday in the men’s downhill training session. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

Switzerland’s Didier Cuche had the fastest time in Wednesday’s first day of training for the Olympic men’s downhill race while Canada’s Robbie Dixon was second in a session delayed by weather problems.

Cuche, who won both the downhill and super-giant slalom at Kitzbuhel last month, made himself the Olympic favourite by cruising over the Dave Murray Downhill course in one minute 53.22 seconds. He showed no ill affects from a broken thumb suffered late last month.

Dixon, of Whistler, was second in 1:53.51 while Switzerland’s Ambrosi Hoffmann was third in 1:53.77.

Snow flurries and fog caused several delays. Two hours after the training had started only 40 of the 87 skiers had completed the course. Officials with the International Ski Federation desperately wanted to get all the racers down the hill so the training could be called official.

With terrible weather expected for the next few days, one training run is all FIS needs so the downhill race can go ahead as scheduled Saturday.

Manuel Osborne-Paradis of Invermere, B.C., picked by many to be a podium threat Saturday, was sixth in 1:54.18. Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was 14th in 1:54.71 after throwing his skis sideways near the end line.