The Maple Leafs are seeking redemption for their 3-1 loss in early December as they close out the season series against the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals (.706 PTS%), who welcome the return of Alex Ovechkin to their lineup (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC).
Game Day Quotes
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery on his team’s 3-1 loss over the Leafs in early December:
I thought it was one of our better games of the year. Coming into this building, we knew the challenge in front of us at the time, and it is no different tonight.
You know they will be ready. It is fresh in their minds what happened that night and how we played.
We were able to get to our game for good portions of that 60 minutes. We need to be ready, and we need to do a lot of the same things.
Carbery on the differences in the Maple Leafs‘ game under Craig Berube:
A couple of things.
You are going to have to work your way through the forecheck pressure because you know they are going to put a ton of pucks in behind you. It may seem like an easy accomplishment to just break the forecheck pressure, but when they do it time and time and time again, eventually, they are hoping you crack one or two times. We have to stay consistent with our breakout structure, support it, and find ways to advance out of our zone.
The other thing, which is maybe a little bit to do with the moves that they made with adding OEL and Taev: They defend the interior of the rink as well as anybody. Everyone talks about the goalies and how they’re having great years, but a lot of it is them protecting the inside of the rink. It is so hard to get in there with A) people and B) to get pucks delivered in there.
They really push you to have to earn your offense against them at five-on-five.
Carbery on the boost from the return of Alex Ovechkin to the lineup:
The obvious one is the goal scoring, but I even think the threat of him being able to score lifts up our entire group.
There is his presence, his infectious personality, and his demeanour. When he is on the ice — whether it is a power play, a faceoff, at five-on-five, or any moment — everybody in the building, along with our 19 other players, believes he can score. That lifts our entire group up.
Craig Berube on the challenge presented by the Capitals:
They are a very good team. If you look down the center ice, it is a deep center group. It is big, and their team has great size. I thought they added some defensemen who really drove their team up. Their goalies have been good.
They play a good brand of hockey. It is very direct. I always say, “How do you want your team to look?” The Capitals get on a nightly basis how they want their team to look.
Chris Tanev on building on the momentum of last night’s 5-2 win over Detroit:
It is a good start. The two previous games weren’t how we wanted to play. It was good to get back to defending well, checking, and not giving up a bunch of chances against.
Tanev on the challenge presented by the Capitals:
They play a really good team game. If you look at their defense, they have six really good defensemen who move the puck well and skate well.
Obviously, they have guys who can put the puck in the net. When everyone buys into what they are preaching over there, it translates.
Tanev on the challenge of shutting down Alex Ovechkin:
Obviously, he is the second-best shooter ever right now and potentially in the future will have the most goals. You don’t want to give him shots or opportunities in the scoring areas. It takes all five guys to help out and then have good sticks and know where he is all the time.
Tanev on whether an Ovechkin shot hurts more to block:
They all hurt.
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs (22-12-2) vs. Capitals (23-9-2)
In the 2024-25 regular season statistics, Washington holds the advantage in four of five offensive categories and three out of five defensive categories.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#67 Max Pacioretty — #91 John Tavares — #16 Mitch Marner
#23 Matthew Knies — #29 Pontus Holmberg — #88 William Nylander
#74 Bobby McMann — #11 Max Domi — #89 Nick Robertson
#18 Steven Lorentz — #64 David Kampf — #24 Connor Dewar
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe — #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly — #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#2 Simon Benoit — #25 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
Starter: #30 Matt Murray
#60 Joseph Woll
Extras: Ryan Reaves, Philippe Myers
Injured: Auston Matthews
Injured (IR): Jani Hakanpää, Anthony Stolarz
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok
Washington Capitals Projected Lines
Forwards
#8 Alex Ovechkin — #17 Dylan Strome — #21 Aliaksei Protas
#24 Connor McMichael — #80 Pierre-Luc Dubois — #43 Tom Wilson
#88 Andrew Mangiapane — #29 Hendrix Lapierre — #13 Jakub Vrana
#22 Brandon Duhaime — #26 Nic Dowd — #16 Taylor Raddysh
Defensemen
#42 Martin Fehervary — #3 Matt Roy
#38 Rasmus Sandin — #74 John Carlson
#6 Jakob Chychrun — #57 Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders
Starter: #48 Logan Thompson
#79 Charlie Lindgren
Injured: Lars Eller, Nicklas Backstrom, TJ Oshie, Sonny Milano
