WASHINGTON — As they prepared to face perhaps the NHL's best goaltender in Montreal's Carey Price, the Capitals expected him to be good. The problem was that they never forced him to prove it.

The Canadiens beat the Capitals, 2-1, on Saturday night at Verizon Center, ending Washington's six-game winning streak. In what was expected to be a goaltending duel between Price and Braden Holtby, the Capitals let Price off easy, forcing him to make just 21 saves.

“We had the puck a lot and we had a lot of zone time, but failed to sort of get bodies inside and get the puck inside at the same time,” Lars Eller said. “It was too easy a night for Price. We didn't get shots, didn't get secondary [chances], so we just failed to sort of get our nose dirty and get the puck in there.”

Washington had scored at least three goals in every game during their winning streak, a step in the right direction after scoring troubles hindered the team to start the season. But with 10 minutes left in the third period and the Capitals trailing by a goal, they had just 16 shots on goal while Montreal had 24.

When Washington fell into a 15-minute shot drought from the end of the second to the start of the third, coach Barry Trotz tried shuffling the forward-line combinations that he had kept largely the same this month, but that didn't spark any drastic increase in scoring chances. Washington had just five shots on goal in the third period, and when the Capitals did take a shot, it was too often from the perimeter. Sixteen shots missed the net, and 21 attempts were blocked.

“I felt like they kept us to the outside,” Nicklas Backstrom said. “We didn't get into the interior, I think. At the same time, we need to shoot more from the point and kind of like everywhere. That's when stuff happens.”

Said defenseman Karl Alzner: “You want a Grade-A chance because that's typically what you need against someone like that, but at the same time, when they're not giving it to you, you have to take the B and C chances, and kind of hope for something and crash the net and maybe find a way to direct one in.”

Trailing by a goal after the first period, the Capitals got a lift from their power play. Eller, traded from Montreal to the Capitals this summer, drew a hooking penalty by Nathan Beaulieu, and then 32 seconds later Alexei Emelin joined Beaulieu in the box after he was called for interference. That gave Washington a five-on-three for 1:28.

The Capitals took advantage nine seconds later, when defenseman John Carlson was able to keep the puck in the zone and get it to Alex Ovechkin, who fed Justin Williams. Williams made a pass across the crease to Backstrom, who beat a sliding Price to tie the game 14:16 into the second period. Washington's power play has 14 goals in the past 15 games.

But the Canadiens retook the lead less than three minutes later when Jeff Petry cut to the net and redirected in a pass from Max Pacioretty with 3:21 left in the second period.

On Montreal's first goal of the game, Holtby was seemingly caught off guard on a wraparound by Artturi Lehkonen.

“I haven't seen someone wrap the puck that quick in a long time, or ever,” Holtby said.

The game was billed as a matchup of two of the league's elite goaltenders — Price and Holtby are the past two Vezina Trophy winners. Montreal initially intended to start backup Al Montoya, but Price had been pulled 6:44 into the second period after he allowed four goals Friday night against the San Jose Sharks, and the abbreviated start allowed him to play again Saturday.