It'll be quite the climb and a Hail Mary for the Washington Capitals to make it back into playoff position — but Wednesday was a good start.

As Ilya Protas made the most of NHL debut, Dylan Strome stepped up and the Capitals' top contributors got back to work en route to a 4-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Here are the takeaways.

Dylan Strome's first NHL goal at Scotiabank Arena was a long time coming, and he finally got it on Wednesday to get the Capitals going in the first.

Strome got open on a 2-on-1 break with Anthony Beauvillier and made no mistake, wiring a one-timer off Beauvillier's sauce pass past Joseph Woll, who replaced an injury Anthony Stolarz just minutes into action, to make it 1-0. It marked his 19th goal of the season and second goal in three games.

The 28-year-old has kicked his game into higher gear with the playoffs on the line, and wasn't done after his first-period goal. In the second, he found Martin Fehervary, whose feed to the front banked off Jake McCabe and in to add to D.C.'s lead, for another multi-point performance. Fehervary's goal gave him 100 career points.

Strome is now one goal away from his fifth straight 20-goal season and three points away from his fourth straight 60-point campaign, which have all come with Washington. 

The Capitals started the second period on the kill, with Ryan Leonard caught for holding. He made up for it as soon as he got out of the box, though, catching a stretch pass from Tom Wilson and beating Joseph Woll on a clean, bar-down snipe to further turn the tide in D.C.'s favor.

Leonard now has points in five of his last six outings and leads Washington in goals (8) since the start of March. The tally was Leonard's 18th of the season, tied for the fourth-most among rookies.

Meanwhile, Wilson got the primary assist, extending his point streak to five games. He is one goal away from his second straight 30-goal season and one point away from hitting the 60-point mark.

With the Capitals needing all hands on deck to capture every possible point down the stretch, having top contributors in Leonard and Wilson, along with Strome, leading the way will be vital if D.C. wants to fight until the bitter end.

It was finally time for Ilya Protas to make his NHL debut, and coach Spencer Carbery didn't hold Little Pro back by any means.

Playing on a line with big brother Aliaksei and Tom Wilson, a trio that has a combined weight of 700 pounds, Protas was utilized early and often at even strength and on the power play, using his size, reach and smarts to his advantage and helping generate some good plays over the course of the night, including a power move to the front for a Grade-A chance in the third.

With just over three minutes to go in regulation, he got his first NHL point, passing up to Aliaksei, who then got the puck over to Cole Hutson for the lay-up empty-netter.

Through 15:37 minutes, Protas picked up an assist, two penalty minutes and one block, while also going 6-for-14 in the face-off dot. He also led his team at all strengths in Corsi-for percentage (62.96), shots-for percentage (63.64), expected goals-for percentage (92.01) and scoring chances-for percentage (78.57).

With Hutson's ENG, all four rookies got on the scoresheet, as Justin Sourdif also picked up an assist. Storybook night for Protas' first taste of the Show.

Washington also got another standout performance from starter Logan Thompson, who put up 21 saves for his third shutout of the season.

Thompson was strong in the net, tracking the puck well, relying on his technique and shutting down any rebounds or in-tight opportunities.

Thompson, who has started 11 of the last 12 games, has been playing some of his best hockey in hopes to keep D.C. in the thick of the race. Since March 14, he had boasted an even-strength save percentage of .924 and overall save percentage of .910.