Playing in a building where they hadn’t won in over five years, the Capitals forged a franchise record eighth straight road victory on Friday night in Toronto, prevailing 3-1 over the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.
Local product Connor McMichael scored just ahead of the midway mark of the third period to snap a 1-1 tie in a tight checking contest, and the Caps combined to snuff out everything the Leafs sent their way to nail down that record win.
“It’s pretty cool,” says McMichael. “Growing up, I dreamed of playing in the NHL, and specifically this sheet of ice. So it’s pretty cool to be able to do that in front of friends and family.”
Each of the last three wins of the streak – in Tampa, in New Jersey and in Toronto – were achieved against teams that defeated the Caps earlier in the season.
“It was a great hockey game from our standpoint,” says Caps’ coach – and former Leafs’ assistant coach – Spencer Carbery. “That’s as good as we’ve played all year, from staying with it on the road. The [team] that we’re playing, they’re playing as well as anybody in the National Hockey League right now at home, with their record and what they’re giving up, and all the stuff going in.”
Toronto had won five straight games at home, it entered the game with a 12-3-0 home record, and it had yielded the least goals against per game (2.14) of any team in the League since the beginning of November.
Despite a strong first period with some good looks in the offensive zone, the Caps weren’t able to break through in the opening 20 minutes of Friday’s game. While Toronto didn’t have as much offensive zone time as Washington in the first – or in any of the three periods, for that matter – the Leafs were able to generate some strong scoring chances as well.
Both teams had a pair of unsuccessful power plays in the first. Washington’s second power play – and thus, the Leafs’ second one as well – was abbreviated when John Carlson was boxed for a phantom interference call on Toronto’s Mitch Marner, one of the worst calls we’ve witnessed in the season to date.
Following a scoreless first, the Caps jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in the second. At the right point, Matt Roy kept the puck in the Toronto end and put a shot toward the net. Nic Dowd got just enough of it to deflect it inside the left post for a 1-0 Washington lead at 1:06 of the second period. The goal was Dowd’s eighth of the season.
Washington continued to control possession and play mostly in the offensive zone for much of the middle period as well. But on one of those Washington offensive zone sequences, the Leafs were able to get the game tied up.
After a Carlson point drive got blocked in front, Toronto’s Chris Tanev collected the puck and spotted John Tavares creeping out toward the red line. Tanev hit Tavares with a perfect stretch pass, and the veteran pivot did the rest, putting the moves on Charlie Lindgren and beating him with a backhander to square the score at 1-1 at 11:31.
The Capitals had the game’s next two power plays – the first was a carryover call late in the second period – but they weren’t able to manufacture the go-ahead goal with either of those extra-man opportunities.
One of Washington’s top traits on this night was its discipline; Toronto had no power play opportunities in the game’s final 44 minutes.
Midway through the final period, the Caps put some forechecking heat on the Leafs in the right wing corner of the ice. As Toronto’s Auston Matthews tried to curl out of the corner, the Caps had both P-L Dubois and McMichael shadowing him, and Dubois leaned out to use his reach, forcing the puck off Matthews’ stick with little velocity. The disc headed toward the right post, where Toronto goaltender Anthony Stolarz tried in vain to swat it away like a ball hockey goalie. Dubois bumped it to the front where McMichael was able to corral it and settle it before shelving it over a prone Stolarz for a 2-1 Washington lead at 9:51.
“I know we get a bounce on that game-winning goal,” says Carbery. “But to me, we earn that bounce because we’re constantly in their zone, constantly putting pressure on them. We’re constantly playing in their end for a good portion of the game.”
Lindgren, who authored five of the eight victories on Washington’s road record run, earned his eighth win of the season by shutting the door the rest of the way, including a dazzling late save on Tavares from point blank range with only 83 seconds left.
“The puck was kind of scrambling on my left post there,” recounts Lindgren. “I knew [Tavares] was backside; I don’t know who it was that made the pass, but I made a good push and luckily made the save.”
Early in the final minute, Protas converted a Dowd feed for an empty-net goal to account for the 3-1 final.
Three nights after being displeased with their game in the final 40 minutes of a 2-1 overtime loss to San Jose at home, the Caps got right in a big way, earning a hard-fought road victory in a tough building. They did it with patience and an unrelenting 60-minute drive.
“From the drop of the puck, I thought that was about as good of a road game as you’re going to find,” says Lindgren. “[We were] making all the right plays; we didn’t give them too much. I thought we were all over the puck tonight.”
