MONTREAL — With just over 13 minutes to play in the third period Sunday night and with his Washington Capitals trailing by a goal, winger Tom Wilson lined up Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier for a bone-crunching hit. It was big, it was violent, and — most importantly for Wilson, given his reputation as a player who can cross the line — it was clean.

Carrier lost the puck in the process, and it landed on the stick of Trevor van Riemsdyk in Washington’s defensive zone. Van Riemsdyk tapped it to Jakob Chychrun, who launched a stretch pass into the air, looking for winger Brandon Duhaime near the offensive blue line.

Duhaime tracked the puck, then corralled it and made a move past Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson to get to the front of the crease. A few moments later, his rebound attempt was in the net behind goaltender Jakub Dobes, and Bell Centre was stunned into silence. Duhaime’s goal, his first of the playoffs, tied the score 6:39 into the third period, sparking the Capitals’ comeback in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Wilson’s hit was the game-changing play. Winger Andrew Mangiapane scored the winner with 3:37 to play, and Duhaime and Wilson added empty-netters for a 5-2 victory. The Capitals lead the first-round series 3-1; Game 5 is Wednesday night at Capital One Arena.

“That completely changed the momentum in the game,” Coach Spencer Carbery said. “That’s a prime example of one of the elements that he brings to the game. Everybody in here knows how impactful he is, how unique he is. You saw firsthand how significant he can play a role in a team coming back and winning a hockey game at the most important time of the year.”

In net for the Capitals, Logan Thompson made a seemingly miraculous return. After leaving Game 3 in the third period hobbled following a collision with teammate Dylan Strome — Thompson had his “bell rung,” he said Sunday night, but passed the concussion protocol and was cleared to play — he made 16 saves to backstop the Capitals to a bounce-back victory.

Thompson had to make just five stops in the first period, but a post-to-post reaction save to rob Nick Suzuki with 4:40 left showed he was feeling fine. Washington didn’t do much to test Dobes (21 saves) in the first period, either, putting only six shots on goal despite having two power plays to Montreal’s one.

Just 1:25 into the second period, Strome scored his second goal of the series. He finished an individual effort by winger Anthony Beauvillier, who worked hard to get space across the blue line and fired a shot that fell as a rebound for Strome to collect and score on his backhand.

“I thought we did a good job of not letting the moment get to us,” Strome said. “Obviously, first game in Montreal in a long time in the playoffs and the building was rocking last game. I think like we just learned a little bit from that, learned how to channel our emotions with the noise and not be too high-strung. … I thought we carried the play for the most part.”

The Capitals were handed a golden opportunity to grab a stranglehold on the game when Christian Dvorak high-sticked center Pierre-Luc Dubois at 4:54. Late in Dvorak’s penalty, Joel Armia hooked Wilson as he made a move in front of Dobes, extending the power play for Washington and giving it 44 seconds at five-on-three.

Dobes made one standout save, sliding across his crease to stone defenseman John Carlson at the back post, but that was the biggest stop he had to make as Montreal killed the penalties. Then center Nic Dowd was boxed for interfering with Suzuki at 9:16, and the Canadiens were back in it.

It had grown quiet inside Bell Centre as the home crowd watched with increasing trepidation. But the combination of the extended penalty kill and a power play for the Canadiens brought the decibel level back up toward its peak. When Ivan Demidov worked his way behind the net and set up Juraj Slafkovsky at the bottom of the left circle for the equalizer at 10:33, the inferno returned.

“We’ll go to the drawing board and kind of look at those [power-play goals], see why those are going in,” Duhaime said. “We got to be better on special teams.”

Both teams’ coaches have spent days talking about the importance of momentum, grabbing it and keeping it instead of losing it. In that six-minute span of the middle period, from Dvorak’s penalty to Slafkovsky’s goal, Montreal won the momentum battle.

Wilson drew a roughing penalty against Josh Anderson, his dance partner from the scrap in Washington’s bench during Game 3, with 3:55 left in the period. Dobes made a dramatic glove save on forward Connor McMichael, who tried to slot home a loose puck off the end boards, and the power play was cut short with three seconds left when captain Alex Ovechkin laid a heavy hit on Jake Evans at the blue line and was boxed for interference.

The Capitals had swung momentum in their favor after Slafkovsky scored, but another failed man advantage led directly to another power-play goal for the Canadiens. Just 30 seconds into Ovechkin’s penalty, Cole Caufield fired a one-timer from the left circle that sneaked between Thompson and the near post.

Montreal had just four shots on goal in the period, but two of them found the net. Washington’s missed opportunities loomed large as it faced a one-goal deficit at the second intermission. Carbery, though, wasn’t worried.

“We had a really good conversation,” he said. “I thought we were out of sorts after that second period because of the special teams and how it went. … I know our group, and I know the character in our room. We’ve been in some difficult circumstances through this year, but the heart of our group has consistently shone through in these moments. Sometimes they need to be reminded of who we are and how we can play through that.”

Carlson slashed Dvorak’s stick out of his hands just 37 seconds into the third period. The Capitals managed to kill the penalty, but the Canadiens continued to carry the momentum. Then Wilson’s hit changed that — and changed the game for Washington.

“Tom just smokes a guy at center ice. I was kind of admiring that, and then our [defense] gets it,” Duhaime said of his goal. “High flick, and then that’s a tough puck for any defenseman to handle. Squirts through.”

The teams traded rushes from there, each looking for a winner. The Capitals found it with 3:37 left: Mangiapane came across the blue line and took a pass from Strome. As he curled into the high slot, Mangiapane fired a wrist shot over Dobes’s glove, setting up Washington to take a 3-1 series lead. Bell Centre went quiet — perhaps for the last time this season.

Montreal pulled Dobes for an extra attacker with 2:47 to play, and Duhaime hit the empty net just eight seconds later. Wilson added a second empty-net goal with 54 seconds left, sending the series back to Washington with the Capitals in command.

“It’s been a physical series both ways — getting hit, giving hits,” Wilson said. “They’ve been really physical. It’s a long series. You just try and kind of invest and continue to play hard every shift you’re out there.

“It was a big hit, and the boys were able to score right after. That’s kind of the way that hockey goes.”