Protas finished the game with a career-high six points (1g, 5a), while Cristall notched his first professional hat trick with his own five-point performance (3g, 2a).
Cristall got the Bears on the board first, lighting the lamp 6:01 into the frame with his 14th goal of the season. Taking a no-look backhand pass from Brett Leason behind the net, the Capitals' prospect winger fired a quick shot past an unaware Sergei Murashov.