The Washington Capitals lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Thursday. The game marked the Maple Leafs’ Home Opener at Scotiabank Arena. Former Capital Ilya Samsonov made 17 saves in the victory.
The Leafs were buoyed by goals from John Tavares, Calle Jarnkrok, and Auston Matthews. Matthews’ third-period tally, where he tipped a Mark Giordano slap shot just enough, stood up as the game-winner.
The Capitals received goals from Nic Dowd and Marcus Johansson.
Charlie Lindgren was sensational in his Capitals debut, stopping 27 of 29 Leafs shots – many of which were dangerous chances.
Alex Ovechkin went goalless for the second consecutive game, but did nearly score on a one-timer that struck the crossbar. The Capitals are 0 for 9 on the man advantage to start the season.
This marks the first time the Capitals have started a season 0-2 in a decade. The last time they did so was during the 2012-13 season.
