Joseph Woll was phenomenal for two periods, but the Washington Capitals’ relentless offence broke through in the third, scoring three goals to defeat the Maple Leafs 4-2 on Friday evening at Capital One Arena.
Washington came out firing, but Woll stood tall, allowing Toronto to build an early lead. Morgan Riley opened the scoring for the Leafs at the 3:44 mark of the first. Oliver Ekman-Larsson found his d-mate inside the circle, and Reilly snapped the puck by Logan Tompson to make it 1-0.
Matthew Knies made it 2-0, 2:49 into the second with his sixth of the season. Auston Matthews made a nifty move to avoid an Alex Ovechkin check, dodging him while putting the puck between his legs. He then feathered a pass in front that Knies buried behind Thompson to extend the lead.
Unfortunately, that highlight reel play was the end of the Toronto offence; the rest of the game would be on the shoulders of Woll. He was up to the task for a while, letting in only one goal, a Connor McMichael rebound, through two periods of play. The Leafs were outshot during that time, 23-10.
But the Toronto goaltender could not hold off the Capital attack all by himself, and in the third, Washington took command. First, it was Anthony Beauvillier with his fifth of the season at 13:16. The winger, stationed at the side of net, tapped in a perfect pass from Ovechkin for the tie. Jakob Chychrun put the Capitals in front 3-2 moments later. The Leafs struggled to clear the zone, allowing Washington to cycle the puck. Eventually, it landed on the stick of Ryan Leonard, who teed up Chychrun for a one-timer that Woll had no chance to save.
Toronto could not score the equalizer and Tom Wilson put the game out of reach, adding an empty net goal to make the final 4-2
Next Up: The Leafs travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday to take on Syndey Crosby and the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
