The Capitals are the top team in the East. The Washington Capitals put in a workmanlike effort on Wednesday to earn a huge two points against the Toronto Maple Leafs on the road. It wasn't pretty by any means, but a win is a win and Spencer Carbery was more than pleased with his team's effort against a very potent Leafs squad — And for good reason. The Capitals did a lot of the right things last night. Neutralize big names like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner or William Nylander? Check. Score more goals than them? Yep. Play a solid and fundamentally sound game? You bet. Again, it was not pretty or perfect by any means; Both teams made lots of mistakes and generated a bunch of turnovers. But at the end of the day, two points are two points, and Washington will gladly take them. So let's grab a big cup of coffee and dig into this one a bit deeper. WASHINGTON PLAYED PATIENT HOCKEY When this game kicked off, it was fairly clear what kind of game we'd be in for; the kind of game only hockey fans would enjoy. There were times when the action was light and chances were few and far between, and as Spencer Carbery explained postgame, it was "low-event hockey." What was important, though, is that the Capitals came out controlling much of the play in the first, though a couple of Toronto power plays would let the Maple Leafs claw back some of the momentum. Ultimately, that first set the tone for how the rest of the game would eventually fold out. There were turnovers and giveaways and some breakaways and odd-man rushes, and even as the Leafs found their footing and started generating more on the forecheck, the Capitals never appeared to be losing their grip on the game. They held their ground, neutralized the Maple Leafs' offense, and played a solid, patient game. They also managed to control possession of the puck more than Toronto, finishing with a Corsi of 63 compared to the Leafs' 40. Offensively, Washington didn't force their chances at risk of opening the game up to the speedy counter-attack of players like Marner or Nylander. Instead, the Capitals played a patient game, waiting for the chance to take advantage of Toronto's mistakes. Nic Dowd's goal came off a turnover from a failed Leafs' clearing attempt that Matt Roy ultimately picked up on and threw toward the net for the deflection. Then, Connor McMichael's game-winner eventually came off an Auston Matthews turnover that ended up in front of Anthony Stolarz and onto the tape of Pierre-Luc Dubois. Again, this type of low-scoring hockey may come off as boring to some, but it is the type of game that can reveal how solid and deep a team truly is. That was the case for the Capitals. THIS YEAR'S CAPITALS BEND, BUT DON'T BREAK Against a high-powered and potent offense like Toronto, a low-scoring, grind-it-out kind of approach can blow up in your face. It required Washington to play with patience and persistence. It meant they couldn't overplay the puck or force plays, and had to play smart hockey. It also meant they could bend, but not break. And the Capitals did bend at times, and made plenty of mistakes due to turnovers. Thankfully they had Charlie Lindgren [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/takes/washington-capitals-goaltender-inteference-gray-area-nhl-charlie-lindgren-take] to thank for not breaking. The Leafs are too good of a team to hold down completely, and whether it was the aforementioned William Nylander breakaways or the solid stops he made in the waning minutes, Lindgren more than came through for his team. The only goal against was a John Tavares breakaway, and besides that, Lindgren was dialed in. For a guy who has had his share of struggles this season, it was good to see Lindgren fend off the chances that Toronto would throw at him. Wins like this are hard-earned, and will hopefully only boost his confidence going forward. Beyond Lindgren, Washington's defense also stepped up, and so did the PK once again, which has been stellar on the road this season. The Capitals didn't give Toronto's power play too many looks. Aside from a Jakob Chychrun [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/features/washington-capitals-jakob-chychrun-ancestral-diet-origins] hook and a John Carlson interference call that I will only describe as interesting, Washington maintained good discipline throughout the game, too, and kept Toronto from having too many chances on the man advantage. POWERPLAY STILL STRUGGLING DESPITE RECENT PROGRESS On the other side of the special teams coin, the Capitals' powerplay went 0-for-4 on the night (one of the Toronto penalties was cancelled by the Carlson penalty, so that power play only lasted 21 seconds). It makred the team's second consecutive game without a PPG, and it was a night where one goal on the man advantage would've gone a long way. While Washington has made recent strides in their power play, which sits at 16th now after starting the year in the basement of the league, things have just looked a bit off over the last two games. The Capitals still seemed to struggle with zone entries and remaining organized on the PP. That said, the Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs] have the fourth-best penalty in the league, just ahead of the Capitals, so they weren't going to make life easy. But given the team's depth on offense and goal-scoring ability at 5-on-5, the team will hopefully continue to figure out the man advantage going forward. UP NEXT There were plenty of positives to take away from this game for the Capitals as they travel to Montreal Saturday for the second half of their Canadian back-to-back, this time against the Leafs' rival Canadiens. Coming off a hard-fought, franchise record eighth consecutive road win and continued success in the third period, D.C. should have plenty of confidence for Saturday. Logan Thompson should also be motivated after being snubbed for Team Canada's 4 Nations squad [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/takes/washington-capitals-spencer-carbery-4-nations-snub] and Sam Montembeault, the Habs' starter for Saturday, making it over him. But ultimately, more offense will be key for D.C. Obviously, Montreal has talent of its own and won't just roll over, so the Capitals will have to keep working hard at even strenght and on special teams. At the end of the day, though, if Washington plays like it did last night, the team should be able to leave Canada with four points. Follow me on Bluesky (kbar77.bsky.social) and Instagram (kgbar77).
