The Leafs long road trip continued in Washington, where they did very well to control Alex Ovechkin, but after a poor start couldn't recover.
The Leafs were on the back foot from the beginning of the first, as they got into some serious penalty trouble, and fell behind by three in the first ten minutes. They were outchanced 8-2 overall, and 5-2 at ES. They did manage to get a critical goal from Troy Bodie in the closing minutes, to keep their chances alive.
The Leafs were much improved in the second period, but despite a goal from Dion Phaneuf, the team had a difficult time turning their zone time into scoring chances, until a powerplay shortly after the mdiway point. From then, Toronto outchanced Washington 6-1 overall in the last 10 minutes of the period, but couldn't find an equalizer.
Toronto weren't able to chase down the lead in the third, and really didn't mount much pressure in the last five minutes. They weren't able to outchance the Capitals in the closing frame, and a late penalty broke up a potential closing flurry.
Washington were able to outchance the Leafs at ES, not just in the poor Leafs opening period, but also the third, where, as mentioned, their chase was quite poor. The Leafs were able to outchance Washington 5-on-5 close, mostly due to their strong second period.
A summary of the scoring chances:
| Status |
Overall |
ES |
| Team |
Toronto |
Washington |
Toronto |
Washington |
| 1 |
2 |
8 |
2 |
5 |
| 2 |
7 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
| 3 |
4 |
9 |
4 |
6 |
| Total |
13 |
18 |
10 |
12 |
Details below.
With a whirl of criticism surrounding Toronto after their bad loss to Carolina on Thursday, they got right back out on the ice, and while the result was improved, there's not too much to be happy with in blowing a third period lead and dropping a fourth consecutive game.
After their early disaster the night before, the Leafs played a tighter first period, but were still clearly outchanced at even strength, with Washington taking a big chance lead in the first ten minutes, before Toronto was able to whittle it down a little with some powerplay opportunities.
The second was much more productive for the Leafs, with a stretch in which they had 10 of 11 chances, including a another solid run of powerplay time. Unfortunately, the one Washington chance in that run was a goal, former Leaf Grabovski feeding Ovechkin. Toronto were level at the end of the period, as they managed a powerplay goal through JVR, again using his good hands near the net.
An early goal in the third, through Kessel, seemed like it might be a big step towards a good result for Toronto, but their problems defending a lead in the third came up again. An unlucky goal, Backstrom's pass deflecting in off a skate, leveled the game, and a goal just after a powerplay expired by Joel Ward put Washington ahead. The Leafs had a couple of good chances for the tie coming home, but weren't able to generate anything in the last 3 minutes, including with Bernier out late. They produced just two unblocked shots in that time, both from Kessel outside the scoring chance area.
Washington's first period saw them pull ahead in even strength chances, and they were never caught, as the Leafs only managed to stay about even in the other two periods. Toronto did win in chances overall, generating ten on special teams.
A summary of the scoring chances:
| Status |
Overall |
ES |
| Team |
Toronto |
Washington |
Toronto |
Washington |
| 1 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
6 |
| 2 |
10 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
| 3 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
7 |
| Total |
23 |
17 |
13 |
16 |
Details below.
One of the biggest blowouts against the Leafs in terms of Corsi not only resulted in a Toronto win, but also in an extension of their streak of outchancing teams at even strength, as they came 5 minutes away from winning outright against Washington, before Ovechkin struck and left them to win it in a shootout.
The game started with a flurry of Washington chances, but Toronto responded well, and managed to win the last 16 minutes of the period 9-3, to end up taking the frame as a whole.
The second saw the Leafs get outshot, in particular on a bucnh of powerplay shots, but Washington's propensity for taking shots from the point, combined with the Leafs defensive approach, meant that the Caps generated only 4 chances all period, and only one at even strength, resulting in an easy Leafs victory on the chance front. In addition, David Clarkson scored again, putting the Leafs up on the scoreboard.
The final period saw Washington come out hard, dominating chances, and coming out with a deserved goal late in the game from Ovechkin. This was really a poor period from the Leafs, score effects are one thing, but to give up 11 chances, the worst third period of the season, is really troublesome; especially when they had a similar game recently against Buffalo.
While being heavily outshot, the Leafs won the chance battle, thanks to a good overtime period (an area where they've been strong all year). It's now a 5-game streak of not being outshot.
A summary of the scoring chances:
| Status |
Overall |
ES |
| Team |
Toronto |
Washington |
Toronto |
Washington |
| 1 |
9 |
7 |
9 |
7 |
| 2 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
1 |
| 3 |
4 |
14 |
4 |
11 |
| 4 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
| Total |
25 |
26 |
23 |
20 |
Details below.
