Photo: John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images
The Washington Capitals fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 4-1 Tuesday night at Capital One Arena. The loss dropped the Capitals’ record to 1-3-1 and 3 points on the season. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper made 13 saves in the loss.
Lines & Pairs
Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Matthew Phillips
Connor McMichael – Evgeny Kuznetsov – T.J. Oshie
Sonny Milano – Nicklas Backstrom – Tom Wilson
Beck Malenstyn – Aliaksei Protas – Anthony Mantha
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Alex Alexeyev – Nick Jensen
Darcy Kuemper
Hunter Shepard
Scratches: Center Nic Dowd and defensemen Hardy Häman Aktell and Lucas Johansen
Injuries: Goaltender Charlie Lindgren (upper-body), defenseman Joel Edmundson (hand; long-term injured reserve), and forward Max Pacioretty (Achilles; long-term injured reserve)
Transactions: The Capitals recalled Shepard from the AHL’s Hershey Bears and loaned goaltender Clay Stevenson to Hershey earlier on Tuesday.
First Period
Toronto would get the night’s first goal from defenseman Morgan Rielly at the 12:53 mark on a power play.
MO STRIKES FIRST! pic.twitter.com/uVy2O6CLbc
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 24, 2023
Quick Stats
SOG: 16-5 Capitals
Face-Off Win %: 64% (Maple Leafs), 36% (Capitals)
Hits: 4-3 Capitals
Second Period
Captain John Tavares would light the lamp for the Maple Leafs 5:41 into the middle stanza, giving his visiting team a 2-0 lead.
Textbook Tavares Tip 🫡 pic.twitter.com/6f6aQ25EO7
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 24, 2023
Toronto would go up 3-0 with a goal from right-wing William Nylander at the 6:29 mark.
WILLY’S WHEELIN & DEALIN 😎 pic.twitter.com/N5JlpOqpMS
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 24, 2023
It would be a 4-0 game in favor of the Maple Leafs as center Auston Matthews would convert on a man advantage late in the period.
omg auston 😳 pic.twitter.com/NXnysNBkn6
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 24, 2023
With fifty-one seconds left in the period, the Capitals would finally get on the board during a power-play opportunity, making it a 4-1 game with Ovechkin’s first goal of the season. Carlson (3) and Wilson (2) assisted.
300th PPG for Ovi.
3,000th PPG in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/YPLSBVF14D
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 24, 2023
Quick Stats
Total SOG: 29-13 Capitals
Face-Off Win %: 55% (Maple Leafs), 44% (Capitals)
Total Hits: 8-5 Capitals
Third Period
The final frame would go scoreless, making it a 4-1 win for Toronto.
Quick Stats
Total SOG: 37-17 Capitals
Face-Off Win %: 53% (Maple Leafs), 46% (Capitals)
Total Hits: 14-10 Capitals
Notes Through the Game
- Ovechkin scored his 823rd career goal.
- Ovechkin’s goal marked his 300th career power-play goal. Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leader in power-play goals, is the first player in NHL history to score 300 career power-play goals.
- Ovechkin’s 300th career power-play goal is also the 3,000th power-play goal in Capitals franchise history.
- Ovechkin has scored 10.0 percent of the power-play goals in franchise history. That’s the third-highest percentage in NHL history among players with at least 40 power-play goals with one franchise (Teemu Selanne, Anaheim: 12.20%; Steven Stamkos. Tampa Bay: 11.56%).
- Ovechkin’s goal marked his first career goal against Joseph Woll, the 170th different goaltender Ovechkin has scored on in his career. Only Jaromir Jagr (178) and Patrick Marleau (177) have scored on more goaltenders in NHL history.
- Carlson extended his point streak to four games (1g, 3a).
- Wilson is now three points shy of 300 career points (128g, 169a).
The Capitals clash next with the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Wednesday. TNT and Max will have the coverage beginning at 7:30 PM ET.
By Della Young