The crowd reacts to Dennis Wideman’s first PPG of the night. (Photo credit: Bruce Bennett)

The Washington Capitals converted four of six power play opportunities on Friday night to best the Toronto Maple Leafs. The win pushes the Caps solidly into 8th place in the east and bounces their overall PP% up to 18.1%, good for 12th in the league. There’s a lot to be happy about, but Former-Cap/Current-Leaf David Steckel isn’t feeling warm and fuzzy about any of it.

In his post-game interview, Steckel scoured his team’s performance on the penalty kill with some salty language: “Any time you give up four power play goals, you’re not going to win a [expletive] game.”

Steckel was traded to the New Jersey Devils last season in exchange for Jason Arnott. On Friday, Steckel served on three of the four penalty kill units that surrendered a goal. Usually a faceoff specialist, Steckel won just six of 13 during the 4-2 loss. Despite saying his team “outplayed” the Capitals five-on-five, Steckel himself sported even ratings in both Corsi and Fenwick.

Additional reporting by Ian Oland.