In their victory in Game One, the Caps came out flat but got better as the game went on. Game Two was a different story as the Caps looked like the much better team in the opening minutes. But the good start wasn’t enough as the Caps fell in double OT and now head to Toronto tied one game apiece.

Regardless of what you think about the Caps’ effort and results in the first two games, it’s impossible to not be impressed by the Leafs. Not given much of a chance by anyone before the playoffs began, the Leafs have proven they are going to make this a series.

Here’s a look at some numbers from Saturday’s loss.

Key Stats

• Shot attempts at 5-on-5 were 91-76, Caps. Yes, wins and losses are what matter (especially this time of year) and the Leafs should be thrilled to be going back to Toronto with the series tied, but the shot attempts can serve as a reminder that the Caps did plenty of things right (and no doubt, plenty wrong) in this loss. Shot attempts were close to even for the first 40 minutes, but the Caps pulled away in the third and maintained that differential through both overtimes.

• With the series shifting to Toronto, it will be interesting to see how Mike Babcock plays the match up game. He’ll likely continue to try to put the Auston Matthews line out against the Evgeny Kuznetsov line. These two lines went head-to-head for about 15 minutes in Game Two and, as you can see in this viz below from Muneeb, it worked out for the Leafs:

• The Matthews line also got the better of the Caps top two defensive pairs. Matthews, William Nylander, and Zach Hyman caused issues for the Caps all night. Deciding how to handle them moving forward is one of many issues Barry Trotz and his staff will have to consider before Game Three.
• Matt Niskanen led all Caps skaters in ice time at 33:56. But because of Roman Polak’s season ending injury in the second period, this didn’t come close to some of the ice time totals for the Leafs. Jake Gardiner led the way at 40:34, followed by Morgan Reilly (39:56) and Matt Hunwick (35:46).

Unsung Hero of the Game

Andre Burakovsky finished second on the team in shots with four and 5-on-5 shot attempt differential at plus-11 (24 four, 13 against). If his line continues to play the way that they have, the goals should come soon.

Discuss

https://twitter.com/muneebalamcu/status/853456339548372992

I think Muneeb is spot on here. Tactically, the Leafs are doing things to make up for the talent gap between them and the Caps. To me, this has been most obvious on the Caps’ zone exits. The Leafs are creating a lot of pressure behind the net and along the walls in the Caps defensive zone, leading to too many turnovers and sloppy zone exits.

What do you all think about the tactics each team has used in the first two games? What noteworthy things have you noticed, good or bad, from the Caps?

Full Coverage of Caps vs Maple Leafs

Headline image: Rob Carr