WASHINGTON -- Points on the road have been very hard to come by for the Montreal Canadiens lately.

They escaped the Verizon Center with two big ones Wednesday night.

Center Alex Galchenyuk scored twice, Mike Condon made 33 saves, and the Canadiens built a 3-0 lead before holding on for a 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals.

Right winger Brendan Gallagher and left winger Tomas Fleischmann also scored for Montreal (29-27-5), which began the night seven points out of the East's second wild-card spot.

"They're a real good team and they made it a little tighter than it needed to be at the end, but our guys came in here and played a good road game," Gallagher said.

The Canadiens led 4-1 after two periods, but Washington defenseman Dmitri Orlov scored with 7:35 left and left winger Andre Burakovsky beat Condon from the slot with 2:53 remaining.

Washington pulled goalie Philipp Grubauer with 1:40 left, but couldn't get another puck past Condon.

Montreal had dropped five straight road games while the Capitals had won nine-of-10 overall and 17-of-19 at home.

Left winger Jason Chimera also scored for Washington (44-11-4), which has a 10-point lead on Western Conference-leading Dallas in the race for the Presidents' Trophy, and a 17-point margin for the top seed in the East.

Goalie Braden Holtby was lifted early in the second period after allowing three goals on 18 shots.

"We just tried to get as many pucks and people around the net as we could," Gallagher said. "Pretty much all our goals we had people around him."

Grubauer made 15 saves, including one on a penalty shot.

Washington has allowed the first goal in each of its last six games and Wednesday night surrendered the first three, including two in the first period.

"It's probably just an attitude, mentality thing going into it," defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "No matter who your opponent is, digging yourself a hole is tough to come back from in this league."

Galchenyuk helped set up his own goal when he intercepted a clearing attempt and fed right winger Dale Weise. Holtby blocked Weise's shot, but Galchenyuk banged home the rebound for his 15th goal of the season at 9:09 of the first.

Then with Washington right winger Tom Wilson off for hooking, Holtby made the initial save on a shot from the point, but Gallagher scored on the rebound.

"We played the best team in the league in their building. They're really tough to play against, and the way that we came out gave us the confidence," Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien said.

Just moments after Washington failed to convert a two-on-none mini-break, former Capital Fleischmann made it 3-0, firing just under the crossbar 1:54 into the second period.

That was all for Holtby, who slammed his stick against the post before skating off as Grubauer came on.

"I didn't like the way we were playing," said Capitals coach Barry Trotz, who called the loss a 'junky' game.

"Sometimes you have to pull your goaltender. I can't fault (Holtby) for any of those goals."

The Capitals got back in it when Chimera swooped in to poke a loose puck past Condon at 5:32 of the second period to make it 3-1.

Grubauer stopped Gallagher on a penalty shot with 7:48 left in the second period, but 24 seconds later Galchenyuk beat Grubauer to the far side on a two-on-one break.

Condon made the save of the night when, falling away from a shot, he reached back and blocked center Mike Richards' attempt with what appeared to be his elbow.

"I didn't even know that I stopped it at the time and someone told me after the game that I did," Condon said. "The pass went across the crease and my momentum was taking that way. I saw the puck went back the other way so I was trying to throw a hand or stick in front of the net."

NOTES: The Capitals took the season series 2-1. ... Washington LW Marcus Johansson (flu) returned after missing Monday's game. ... Montreal D Nathan Beaulieu, who suffered a lower-body injury during Monday night's loss to Nashville, didn't make the trip. LW Lucas Lessio was also scratched. ... Capitals D Mike Weber, acquired from the Sabres in a trade on Tuesday, has not yet joined the team. D Taylor Chorney and C Michael Latta were scratched. ... A drug charge against Capitals C Mike Richards was stayed on Wednesday by a Manitoba judge, and the prosecution is no longer pursuing the case. He was stopped at the U.S.-Canada border in June and charged with possession of a controlled substance. ... Capitals D Brooks Orpik played in his 800th NHL game.