Game Re-Caps

Historic Heartbreak: Capitals Fall 4-1 to Maple Leafs Despite Ovechkin’s Milestone 823rd Career Goal

By Della Young·
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.

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.

Toronto would go up 3-0 with a goal from right-wing William Nylander at the 6:29 mark.

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.

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.

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.

Capitals Postgame Audio

Forward Alex Ovechkin

Forward Tom Wilson

Defenseman Martin Fehervary

Goaltender Darcy Kuemper

Head coach Spencer Carbery

By Della Young