WASHINGTON — Trailing 2-0 and lacking life through the first two periods, the shorthanded Washington Capitals needed a hero against the Montreal Canadiens. Enter Ethen Frank.

After a slow start and lackluster power play left the team trailing late, Frank stepped up and struck twice to force overtime, where Connor McMichael secured the win.

Here are the takeaways from the 3-2 victory.

Capitals Come To Life In Third With Frank Promoted,  McMichael Wins It

After a start that left quite a bit to be desired, the Capitals got to work in the third period to try and change the narrative, and they were again, led by Ethen Frank.

Frank, moved to the top line to operate with Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome, got to the front of the net and deflected Matt Roy's shot past Sam Montembeault to pull D.C. within one and inject some life back into the arena. It marked Frank's third straight game with a goal.

It worked; from there, Washington was able to generate more offense and had visibly more jump in its step as it outshot Montreal 16-5 in the third.

Frank wasn't done there. With the goalie pulled and just around two minutes to go in regulation, Frank tipped home a Sandin drive for his second of the night to force overtime, where Connor McMichael scored to secure the comeback with 37.6 seconds left to go in the extra period.

Capitals Power Play Has Opposite Effect Early, Capitals Lack Urgency & Push To Start

The Capitals power play has seen its fair share of ups and downs of late, but on Tuesday, in a much-needed win against the Canadiens, it took a nosedive.

Washington lacked life on the man advantage, and, on its first chance of the night, gave up a shorthanded goal for the second time in the last four games. The team has now given up a total of six shorthanded goals this season, the second-most in the league.

Over the course of the night, the coaching staff made changes to the top unit, eventually moving Aliaksei Protas onto the first power play to try and spark something, but ultimately.

Overall, the Capitals went 0-for-5 on the night, and they now have the fourth-worst power play in the league, operating at just 15.4 percent. Though the OT power play showed a spark, it couldn't convert.

On the flip side, the penalty kill went 4-for-4, a positive side on the flip side of the special teams battle.

Ultimately, Washington just lacked a spark through the first 40 minutes of play, and it proved costly.

Injuries & Illness Continue To Take Toll

All the while, the Capitals are continuing to deal with injuries and illness, and they visibly took a toll on the group against the Canadiens.

Justin Sourdif, who has been seamlessly filling the role as the second-line center and has 10 points in his last seven games, was out with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day. Tom Wilson also missed his fifth straight game as he continues to recover from a lower-body injury.

On defense, Jakob Chychrun misssed his second straight game due to illness.

Their absences were evident as Washington struggled to get much going in the way of offense, especially on special teams and the top-6.

Top Shelf Takes

- Rasmus Sandin had two assists.

- Hendrix Lapierre logged just 6:27 minutes of ice time.

- Nic Dowd received a 10-minute misconduct late in the third, ending his night early.