Capitals soar past Maple Leafs for fifth straight win and first place in Metropolitan Division
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Version 0 of 1. TORONTO — A step too slow with heavier legs, the result of playing in a second game in as many nights in a busy stretch of five games this week, the Washington Capitals were finally able to recharge with their reliable power play. Toronto Maple Leafs Coach Mike Babcock was asked about that scorching unit after his team’s morning skate on Saturday. How do you slow it down? Babcock’s suggestion was to avoid it altogether and stay out of the penalty box. That lasted for one period before the Capitals, facing a struggling goaltender, were opportunistic when the Maple Leafs did eventually go to the box in the second period, notching two power-play goals to take control on their way to a 4-2 win. Washington’s fifth straight win moved the Capitals into first place in the Metropolitan Division with 35 points and a 17-5-1 record after the New York Rangers (16-6-2, 34 points) lost to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon. “It’s just fun to see the guys play the way we are,” forward Marcus Johansson said. “Coming into the locker room after every game and having fun and enjoying the win, there’s no better feeling.” After the Capitals and Maple Leafs traded goals for the first half of the game, Washington got the eventual winning goal on its first power-play opportunity. From the left faceoff circle, Alex Ovechkin fired his signature one-timer; it missed, but the puck careened off a Toronto defenseman and then the shin pad of Johansson and in, a double deflection to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead. “Once we scored the power-play goal, you could see us get some life on the bench,” Capitals Coach Barry Trotz said. “The power play gave us some energy. After that, we were skating better, drew another penalty and capitalized on that one.” During the next power play, which started a little more than a minute after Johansson’s goal, Jason Chimera set up a Justin Williams one-timer from the right faceoff circle for a two-goal lead. That made four Washington goals on just 12 shots, a bad night for goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who fell to 0-8-1 this season. [Chimera is the Capitals’ ‘secret weapon’] The Capitals scored their two power-play goals on just three shots during their first two power-play chances. On Friday night against Tampa Bay, Washington scored three goals in four power plays and came into Saturday’s game with the league’s third-best power play. “Our [power play] basically won us the game tonight,” goaltender Braden Holtby said. “They capitalized when they needed to and they looked like they were going to accomplish something.” With Toronto’s top goaltender James Reimer out with an injury, the Capitals had the benefit of going against Bernier, cold after not playing in nearly two weeks. He has struggled this season with a 3.17 goals against average. Opposite Bernier was Holtby, who leads the league in wins and goals against average, having won 22 games since Bernier last got a win on April 5. Holtby, who saved 31 shots Saturday night, now has a career-high seven-game winning streak. It looked like it would be a long night for Bernier when Washington struck quickly, less than four minutes into the first period. Holtby stopped back-to-back close range shots by Toronto, then Chimera and Andre Burakovsky broke free for a two-on-one. Chimera’s wrist shot from the left faceoff circle got past Bernier, just the second shot he saw. “We just wanted to make sure that if we got a chance, to capitalize,” Trotz said. Washington didn’t keep that same pressure on Bernier for the rest of the period. After a giveaway by Brooks Laich in the neutral zone and then another one by Dmitry Orlov in the defensive zone, Peter Holland punched in a rebound to tie the game 6 minutes 13 seconds in. Instead it was a busy period for Holtby, who faced 16 shots on goal in the first period, all at even strength, while the Capitals struggled, registering just four shots on goal. Washington didn’t get a single shot off for the last 13:43 of the period. The sluggishness wasn’t surprising considering the Capitals were playing in their second game of a back-to-back and their seventh game in 11 nights. Trotz has often said that the power play can swing momentum against a team when it doesn’t score. On Saturday night, it had the opposite effect, jolting the Capitals ahead. “We were outshot pretty badly, and the power play scores two big goals for us, which is just huge,” Chimera said. “Holts locked it down from there. When you can rely on a [power play] like that and it comes through, it’s pretty good.” |