*Sorry for the lack of photos! Hoping to get permission eventually*
The Maple Leafs put an end to the Washington Capitals' three-game win streak on Wednesday, March 20th at the Capital One Arena. Toronto, fortunately, broke their two-game losing streak that began after two wins. They took a 5-4 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes and a 4-3 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers. Max Domi recorded four assists, and both William Nylander and John Tavares had a goal and recorded two assists.
Auston Matthews had a five-point night with two goals and three assists. He would've been able to record his seventh hat trick of this season and the 14th of his NHL career if it hadn't been challenged by the Washington Capitals for offsides.
Maple Leafs lineup against the Capitals:
Bertuzzi - Matthews - Domi
Knies - Tavares - Nylander
McMann - Holmberg - Robertson
Dewar - Kampf - Gregor
Rielly - McCabe
Benoit - Timmins
Edmundson - Liljegren
Woll
Samsonov
Capitals lineup against the Maple Leafs:
Ovechkin - McMichael - Sgarbossa
Miroshnichenko - Strome - Wilson
Pacioretty - Lapierre - Milano
Malenstyn - Dowd - Aube-Kubel
Fehervary - Carlson
Sandin - Jensen
Alexeyev - van Riemsdyk
Lindgren
Kuemper
Only 16 seconds into the opening period, Auston Matthews gave Toronto a 1-0 lead for his 56th goal of the season. He scored from just beyond the crease off a pass by Max Domi, who had grabbed the loose puck from behind the Capitals' net before passing it to Matthews.
William Nylander scored 56 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0. He sent the puck over Charlie Lindgren's left shoulder at the right face-off circle off a pass from John Tavares. It was Nylander's fourth goal in his past four games. At 10:03, Alex Ovechkin put the Capitals on the board to cut it to 2-1 with his 844th NHL career goal. He received a pass from John Carlson, and then scored from the bottom of the left circle with a one-timer on the power play. Auston Matthews struck once again with his second of the game and his 57th of the season to make it 3-1 when he sent a wrister from the right point through a screen. Not long after Matthews' goal at 6:26, Connor McMichael cut it to 3-2 for his 15th of the season when he banked the puck in past Joseph Woll from below the goal line.
It seemed that Matthews completed his 14th career hat trick, however, it was successfully challenged by Washington for offside. With very little time left in the middle frame, Max Domi's shot deflected in past Lindgren off Jake McCabe, putting the Maple Leafs back up 4-2.
Alex Ovechkin put in his 845th career goal, pulling the Capitals within 4-3 in the final frame at 13:18. He scored a wrist shot off a pass from Dylan Strome. At 12:02, Bobby McMann extended Toronto's lead to 5-3... Tyler Bertuzzi made it a 6-3 lead soon after Auston Matthews gave him a no-look backhanded pass, and he scored at the right side of the net. John Tavares hunted down the 7-3 final with his 23rd of the season on the power play.
Auston Matthews on how the team played and playing with Max Domi: "Obviously the start helps. Any time they pushed back and got a goal, we had a response. So, a lot of really good things tonight and just want to continue to carry over this momentum into the weekend," - "He's such a smart player out there and he makes the game easy. He can make plays, he moves into space really well and just communicates a lot out there. So it just makes it easier for myself and 'Bert' to move into space and try to find each other... I really liked the chemistry tonight."
Joseph Woll on the Maple Leafs' 7-3 victory and adjustments: "It was a bit back and forth at the beginning, and then obviously it's nice scoring that many goals. So it'd be tough to lose the game when you put up seven - I think the past couple of weeks have been a good time to kind of step back and now I'm able to get back in the game mode."
Notes:
- John Tavares' goal had been his fourth in his past five games... Joseph Woll made 18 saves for Toronto in his first start since March 7th.
Tavares has eight points in his past three games (three goals, five assists)
- Auston Matthews has set the Maple Leafs record for the most multi-goal games in a season (16)... Matthews also had 15 in the 2021-22 season and had been tied with Rick Vaive (1983-84).
- William Nylander has seven points (four goals, three assists) and has scored in four back-to-back games during a four-game point streak.
- Charlie Lindgren made a total of 23 saves for Washington.
- Alex Ovechkin has 1,539 points (845 goals, 694 assists), and ties Joe Thornton for 13th in NHL history... He also recorded 34 points in his past 32 games (17 goals, 17 assists)
- Both T.J. Oshie (upper body) and Aliaksei Protas (lower body) had been scratched, out day-to-day.
Postgame: Bobby McMann
Postgame: Max Domi
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