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Braden Holtby calls out Capitals after brutal loss to Leafs: ‘It was embarrassing’

The Washington Capitals were dominated in every facet of the game Saturday night, losing to the upstart Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2. The Caps have played three games over the last four nights, but starting goaltender Braden Holtby was not interested in any excuses after the game.

“We were completely embarrassed by a young team,” Holtby said to the media. “I think we need to get to work in practice. Get in better shape. Get working harder. Realize it’s not easy just because we had success last year.”

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By Ian Oland 7 years ago

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Auston Matthews saw ‘The Goal’ by Alex Ovechkin live: ‘It’s probably one of the best goals ever’

2016 first-overall pick Auston Matthews turned some heads during his first NHL game this season. The 19-year-old Leafs forward scored four goals – the most ever in a NHL debut.

Ten years earlier, Matthews was present himself for another head-turning hockey moment – this time involving Alex Ovechkin when he was a rookie.

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By Ian Oland 7 years ago

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Carlson rips one wide: Leafs beat Caps 4-2

The Caps looked lost and tired both physically and mentally in tonight’s loss. It was one of those games that you just throw away and move on quickly from. Hopefully Matt Niskanen is okay and we can get back to winning ways against the Islanders.

The scoring opened with an unlikely goal from Matt Martin. It continued with a goal from James van Riemsdyk to make it 2-0 in the second and the Leafs never looked back. Goals from Matthews, Backstrom, Kadri and Johansson ended the game 4-2.

Leafs beat Caps 4-2. That was hard to watch.

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By Chris Cerullo 7 years ago

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Barry Trotz takes a puck to the head and doesn’t miss a shift

The start of the Caps/Leafs game was strange. Leafs’ grinding extraordinaire Matt Martin opened the scoring with a breakaway goal. But I want to focus on the opening face off.

As the Leafs gained possession off the draw, the puck deflected off Nikita Soshnikov’s stick and into the Caps bench. The puck struck Caps Head Coach Barry Trotz square in the forehead.

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By Ian Oland 7 years ago

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Caps at Maple Leafs pregame: Hello Auston

We’re back already? The Caps come into today’s 2nd half of a back-to-back against the Toronto Maple Leafs who have been off for two days. Lets hope that the extra rest does them no good.

The Caps and head coach Barry Trotz were able to roll all four lines against the Buffalo Sabres in a relatively easy victory last night and our Vezina Trophy winning goaltender is back in the cage.

However, Toronto is a young team that loves to get up and down the ice with pace and will willingly turn any game into a shootout, so tired legs especially on defense could be an issue. We’ll also get our first look at rookie phenom Auston Matthews, but hopefully he stays off the score sheet.

Puck drop is at 7:00 on CSN+ and your various streaming outlets.

Team	Record	Possession	PDO	Power Play	Penalty Kill
Toronto Maple Leafs	8-8-4	50.28%	100.0	21.1%	82.0%
Washington Capitals	13-5-2	53.84%	102.7	16.7%	82.8%

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By Chris Cerullo 7 years ago

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Summoning the Gru-power: numbers for the morning after

Last night the Capitals kept on rolling by beating the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 for their second win in a row (and sixth in their last ten.) Goaltender Philipp Grubauer played a standout game and ticked off the “W” in front of his parents and girlfriend. And the depth chipped in some welcome scoring, with Daniel Winnik and Brett Connolly both finding the back of the net.

Not long ago we discussed some worrying trends after a loss to the Blue Jackets, and while this wasn’t a dominant game, the Caps have continued to climb out of their mini-rut. They have been above 50 percent possession in seven of their last nine games, and have had the better of scoring chances in five of those.

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By Nathan Sick 7 years ago

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