Written by Isabelle Khurshudyan
Verizon Center got any sentimentality out of the way early. It bid farewell to Brooks Laich and said hello to Daniel Winnik, and when that was over, there was a hockey game between one team in first place and one in last.
The Washington Capitals’ 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night was at once the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Playing against a former longtime teammate, the Capitals’ new-look roster was together for the first time, extending the team’s record to 47-12-4 with 98 points.
For a change, Washington had a strong start, but then it fell into a disinterested lull until a power play jolted the Capitals in the third period.
“We didn’t have a ton of emotion tonight, a ton of fight in our game,” defenseman Matt Niskanen said. “We’re struggling with that part of it right now. We’re winning, but I think we all know deep down that we’re much better than we showed.”
After a third-period goal from Toronto’s Colin Greening tied the game at 2, Washington turned to its special teams to pull ahead. Nikita Soshnikov boarded Karl Alzner with 10 minutes 40 seconds remaining, putting Washington on the power play. The game-winning goal was scored in nearly identical fashion as the one from Tuesday night, with Niskanen slamming the puck in from the point.
With opposing penalty kills focused on Alex Ovechkin, Niskanen has a scoring lane from the point, just like he did against Pittsburgh the previous night. He again opted not to pass it to the left faceoff circle, taking the shot instead, and it was again successful. Tuesday’s goal was originally announced as his, but then Wednesday afternoon it was credited to T.J. Oshie for a deflection.
To continue reading this article, click here.
