Joseph Woll made 24 saves and Mark Giordano scored as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Washington Capitals 5-1 on Thursday.
Tyler Bertuzzi has scored six goals in his last seven games, along with Conner Dewar and Bobby McMann adding more goals for Toronto (41-22-9).
Nic Dowd scored for Washington (36-27-9) and Charlie Lindgren made 43 saves.
Woll played well after allowing a goal in his last two games, including a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
The Leafs were ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning by two points for third place in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand.
The Capitals started the night in the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, two points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings with a game in hand.
Auston Matthews, who leads the NHL with 59 goals, played despite missing the morning skate with an illness.
The Leafs were missing several key players, including Mitch Marner and several defensemen.
Alex Ovechkin scored 18 goals in his last 25 games and is 46 goals away from Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.
Giordano scored his second goal of the season and first in 31 games at 10:09 of the opening period after recovering from a concussion.
At age 40, Giordano celebrated his second goal of the season after his father, Paul, died last month.
Woll made a great save when he outwaited Nick Jensen in the first period.
The Leafs were more coordinated and took 19 shots on goal in the first period after a criticized performance on Tuesday.
Bertuzzi scored his 17th goal just 18 seconds into the second period, but Dowd responded with a goal for Washington at 5:27.
Dewar scored his 11th goal at 11:38, restoring Toronto’s two-goal lead.
McMann made it 4-1 at 1:06 of the third period, and Bertuzzi added his 18th goal at 10:11.
Bertuzzi scored his 18th goal after a turnover at 10:11.
CARBERY, SANDIN RETURN
Washington head coach Spencer Carbery and defenceman Rasmus Sandin returned to Scotiabank Arena for the first time since leaving Toronto last year.
Sandin was traded to the Capitals ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, and Carbery was hired by Washington in May after two seasons as a Toronto assistant.
Carbery said he always valued being part of the organization and felt the pressure was a sign of doing something important for the Leafs.
HALL CALL
Keefe, who was raised in Brampton, a suburb of Toronto, was announced as one of six 2024 inductees into the city’s sports hall of fame this week.
UP NEXT
Toronto is going to play against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
Washington is going to play against the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
This information from The Canadian Press was initially published on March 28, 2024.
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