Auston Matthews and Alexander Ovechkin put on a show, but collectively, the Maple Leafs dominated the Capitals 7-3, who were aiming for a fourth straight victory on Wednesday.
The Torontonians thus restricted Washington to third place in the playoff race, one point behind the Detroit Red Wings who have played one more game.
Before the game, the Capitals paid tribute to Chris Simon, who passed away yesterday. He played 320 of his 782 games in Washington.
Auston Matthews scored his 56th and 57th goals of the season, in addition to three assists. Max Domi had four assists, while Joseph Woll made 18 saves.
On the other side, Alexander Ovechkin also scored a pair of goals to bring his career total to 845 goals, 49 away from Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.
“We are all at a loss for words to describe him,” said Matthews. “So it’s always fun to play against him and watch him, with the excitement and passion he has when he scores goals. Obviously, we would prefer he doesn’t score against us, but when you’re that good, you’re bound to get chances and he usually converts them.”
Seeking milestones on both sides, Ovi himself wished his rival what would become the first 70-goal season since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny in 1992-1993.
“I’m happy for him,” said the great number 8. “I hope he succeeds, you never know. He’s a special player and it’s nice to see that.”
Matthews wastes no time
Matthews scored his fastest career goal after just 16 seconds of play. It was the sixth time he had scored in the first minute of a game.
Toronto also started the second period with a bang, this time thanks to William Nylander after 56 seconds with a laser.
A power play finally opened the door for a response from Alex Ovechkin, who scored his 14th goal in 21 games. He accepted the pass from John Carlson before unleashing a one-timer.
Matthews came back to give his team a two-goal lead. His shot from the blue line gave him his 75th multi-goal game in his career.
The sharpshooter thought he had a hat trick shortly after putting the puck in the net on a rebound, but Tyler Bertuzzi was offside to his right on the video replay, keeping the score at 3-2.
Matthews still made himself useful before the end of the period, as he and Max Domi combined for Jake McCabe’s goal to make it 4-2.
“It’s obvious that we couldn’t do anything against number 34 tonight,” said Capitals coach Spencer Carbery, referring to Matthews’ jersey number.
After a turnover at the Leafs’ bench in the third period, Dylan Strome grabbed the puck and Ovi completed the play to close the gap to 4-3.
But Bobby McMann and Tyler Bertuzzi put the game out of reach by scoring within 38 seconds of each other, before John Tavares rounded out the scoring.
Known for his numerous questionable actions on the ice, Caps forward Tom Wilson delivered a violent stick to the face of Noah Gregor in the third period, earning him a double minor penalty. It remains to be seen what the NHL’s disciplinary committee will decide on this matter.
Brodie left out
The Maple Leafs decided to sit defenseman T.J. Brodie for this game.
“Brods knows he’s not at his best right now, and for a big part of the season. But he had big responsibilities, facing the best players every night, it’s a lot,” justified head coach Sheldon Keefe. “It’s an opportunity for us to give him a night off.”
Brodie played 21:28 and had a -2 rating in the 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday.
The 33-year-old has 18 assists in 66 games this season. The Chatham native of Ontario has 340 points in 896 career games with the Leafs and the Calgary Flames.
Forward Ryan Reaves also missed the game due to an eye injury suffered in his fight against Nicolas Deslauriers the day before. Noah Gregor and Conor Timmins therefore entered the lineup.
#LNH #Toronto #sort #vainqueur #choc #MatthewsOvechkin
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