Toronto Maple Leafs Take Down Washington Capitals, 4-3 (OT); Aliaksei Protas Tallies Goal, Assist


Pgoto: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 4-3 in overtime at Capital One Arena on Wednesday night in their final game before their three-game Western Conference road trip. The overtime loss put Washington (10-4-1) within a point back of the Carolina Hurricanes (who have one game in hand) for second place in the Metropolitan Division and three behind the New Jersey Devils (Washington has four) for first. They are now two points up on the New York Rangers (who have one) for third in the division. Goaltender Logan Thompson, who became the first Capitals netminder to start back-to-back games this season, made 31 saves in the loss.

Washington’s Lines

Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Aliaksei Protas
Connor McMichael – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane – Hendrix Lapierre – Jakub Vrana
Brandon Duhaime – Nic Dowd – Taylor Raddysh

Jakob Chychrun – John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin – Matt Roy
Martin Fehervary – Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Thompson
Charlie Lindgren

  • Scratched
    • C Lars Eller
    • D Dylan McIlrath
    • D Alexander Alexeyev
  • Injured
    • LW Sonny Milano (upper-body)
    • C Nicklas Backstrom (hip)
    • RW T.J. Oshie (back)
  • Notes
    • Lapierre replaced C Michael Sgarbossa, who was re-assigned to the AHL’s Hershey Bears after Washington acquired Eller from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, from the Capitals’ 8-1 win at the St. Louis Blues on Saturday

Toronto’s Lines

Bobby McMann – John Tavares – Mitch Marner
Matthew Knies – Max Domi – William Nylander
Pontus Homberg – David Kampf – Alex Steeves
Steven Lorentz – Connor Dewar – Ryan Reaves

Morgan Reilly – Jani Hakanpaa
Jake McCabe – Christopher Tanev
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Connor Timmins

Joseph Woll
Anthony Stolarz

  • Scratched
    • LW Nicholas Robertson
    • D Philippe Myers
    • D Simon Benoit
  • Injured
    • LW Max Pacioretty (lower-body)
    • C Auston Matthews (upper-body)
    • RW Calle Jarnkrok (lower-body)
    • D Dakota Mermis (upper-body)
  • Notes
    • Ekman-Larsson played in the 1,000th game of his NHL career

First Period

Scoring

  • 11:12, 1-0 Washington: Raddysh’s pass from the goal-line to the front of the net went off of Domi’s skate in front and past Woll as he was battling for positioning with Fehervary in front of the net. Raddysh drove to the goal-line after entering the offensive zone. Six of McMichael’s seven assists have been primaries.
  • 12:13, 1-1: McMann buried Tavares’ cross-ice feed under the pad of Thompson after Tavares got the puck behind Roy in a one-on-one battle in Washington’s defensive end.
  • 18:33, 2-1 Washington: Strome slammed a loose puck into the net from the crease after weaving around the right pad of Woll and getting a feed by Protas from the right corner. Strome has 12 assists and 14 points in his last eight games. Protas’ nine assists are tied for second on the team with Carlson (Strome: 18).

Stats

  • 11-5 Washington in shots
  • .571 Washington on faceoffs
  • 7-6 Toronto in hits
  • 4-1 Toronto in blocked shots
  • 6-0 Washington in giveaways
  • 2-0 Washington in takeaways
Graphics: @Capitals

Second Period

  • 1:01 into the period, Thompson flashed the glove on Domi’s wrist shot on a breakaway after Chychrun turned the puck over at the offensive blueline.
  • At 10:31, Carlson blasted a slapper through the five-hole of Woll through a maze of bodies after Sandin traded places with him, walked the line, and fed him from opposite sides of the blueline, but the goal was overturned after Dowd interfered with Woll in the blue paint.

Scoring

  • 17:48, 3-1: Protas buried one past Woll’s glove at the side of the goal after Tanev broke up his pass to Ovechkin but Sandin fed him back. Protas has recorded two points through two periods, marking his fourth multi-point game of the season. Sandin extended his point streak to three games (three goals), which is tied for the longest of his career. Ovechkin has recorded 78 points (44 goals) in 60 career games (1.30 points-per-game) against Toronto. Capitals defensemen have combined for 32 assists this season, which is currently tied for the fifth-highest total in the NHL.

Stats

  • 17-14 Washington in shots
    • 9-6 Toronto in the second
  • .571 Washington on faceoffs
  • Both teams failed to score on one power play
  • 14-9 Washington in hits
  • 10-7 Toronto in blocked shots
  • 11-7 Washington in giveaways
  • 3-3 in takeaways

Third Period

  • More than five minutes in, Thompson thwarted McMann with the blocker on a cross-ice feed from Marner.
  • At 9:09, Lorentz buried a loose puck out of mid-air after Thompson made three saves on Dewar and Lorentz, Ekman-Larsson threw it towards the net from behind, and Toronto created chaos in front of Washington’s net. It was ruled as no goal after Lorentz used his leg to put the puck behind Thompson.
  • With 3:13 to go, Reilly’s wrist shot from the point was tipped by a high stick from Knies in the slot, waving out the goal.

Scoring

  • 15:51, 3-2: After Wilson turned the puck over to Knies at the defensive blueline, he walked in, deked, and beat Thompson through the five-hole and Nylander was at the doorstep to finish it.
  • 19:12, 3-3 (PPG): Marner one-timed a dot-to-dot feed from Reilly to finish off a triangular play with Nylander off of a faceoff win.

Stats

  • 32-24 Toronto in shots
    • including 18-7 in the third
  • .537 Washington on faceoffs
  • Toronto scored once on two power plays
  • 21-13 Washington in hits
  • 15-11 Washington in blocked shots
  • 17-10 Washington in giveaways
  • 5-3 Toronto in takeaways

Overtime

Scoring – 4:13. 4-3 Toronto: After Woll robbed Ovechkin with the pad, Ekman-Larsson cleared the puck the other way to send Tavares on a breakaway. Tavares deked and beat Thompson through the five-hole.

Shots: 35-27 Toronto; 3-3 in overtime

Next game: Friday at Colorado Avalanche (9 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market)

By Harrison Brown

About Harrison Brown

Harrison is a diehard Caps fan and a hockey fanatic with a passion for sports writing. He attended his first game at age 8 and has been a season ticket holder since the 2010-2011 season. His fondest Caps memory was watching the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and hanging out with his two dogs. Follow Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonB927077





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