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Great day to be named Alex: Caps beat Leafs 4-2

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The Capitals and Maple Leafs faced off in a battle of former playoff foes. The two teams, both playing the back half of back to backs, rekindled their “friendship” in a game where the Caps could extend their winning streak to three games.

Alex Ovechkin in the midst of getting booed, went through the entire Leafs team to open the scoring. He doubled his total on the power play shortly after. 2-0 lead for the Caps after 20 minutes.

Jakub Vrana converted a breakaway for his seventh of the season. 3-0 good guys after 40 minutes.

Jake Gardiner struck early in the third. Zaitsev would follow with his own tally shortly after. That Ovechkin dude would seal it with an empty net goal for his hat trick.

Caps beat Leafs 4-2!

  • This was the Capitals third game in four nights and fourth game in six nights. I don’t know about you all, but in my opinion the NHL season is far too long. Playoffs ending in June is a bit ridiculous and so are all of those games in such close vicinity to one another.
  • All of those games looked to add up in the third period of this one. The Caps looked like they were skating through sand and it showed on the scoreboard.
  • Alex Luey is a cancer-survivor and one of the strongest kids in the world. Really glad that the Caps could give him a good showing on HIS night. Well done to all involved.
  • Alex Ovechkin is ridiculous. His two first period goals were vintage Ovi. The hat trick to seal it. Those Toronto boos only fuel him. Lets take some (more like a lot) time to appreciate the future hall of famer:

  • It takes time to win back a fanbase as often prodded as Caps fans, especially in a city that is hurt on a yearly basis by every team that plays in it. Barry Trotz may have brought on some bad Adam Oates memories for some with his stubbornness to start the seson, so it will take some time to earn trust back. These new lines are definitely a step in the right direction. They’re clicking and the team looks like a different team than the one that played the first 15-plus games this season. It has only been three good games though. Keep it up boys, the division race is tight.
  • Jakub Vrana is on fire. He now has seven goals this year and is absolutely flying. I don’t buy the narrative that this was spurred by his time in the press box, he’s been good all year, the puck is just ending up behind goalies now.
  • Shoutout to Craig Laughlin for this one. The last time a Toronto Maple Leafs player led the league in scoring, the year was 1933. Auston Matthews is probably their best bet in a long time to heal that black eye. He had an assist in this one.

  • That third period is all Steve Dangle‘s fault.
  • 20 hat tricks for Ovi. Twenty. He is atop the NHL goals lead once more and passes Peter Bondra (19) for the franchise record.

Joe B suit of the night

Have to wait a little while for the next one. A needed break for a tired Caps team ends on Thursday against the Kings.

Full Coverage of Caps at Leafs

Headline photo: Mark Blinch

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