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The Toronto Maple Leafs put a scare into the Washington Capitals, scoring early and using their speed to keep the heavily favored top seed on their heels, but the Leafs did not maintain that level of effort, could not hold the lead and missed an opportunity to steal Game 1 of the best-of-seven series.
Tom Wilson scored at 5:15 of overtime to give the Capitals a 3-2 win at the Verizon Center on Thursday.
Mitch Marner and Jake Gardiner gave Toronto a 2-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game. Justin Williams responded with a power play goal in the first and tied the game late in the middle frame by going to the net and taking advantage of some lax defensive play from Leafs blueliner Martin Marincin.
The game-winner also involved Marincin(who saw the least ice time of any defender), whose soft clearing attempt off the glass was intercepted by Wilson and fired quickly at the short side top corner past the Leafs goaltender.
“I thought Freddy was really good and then he would probably like to have that [overtime goal] back.… Head coach Mike Babcock said following the game. “He gave us an opportunity so I don't think you can argue with that.…
Tom Wilson beats Frederik Andersen in overtime to give the @Capitals the 1-0 series lead!#WSHvsTOR pic.twitter.com/XMKmhYLRzP
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 14, 2017
After the game, Babcock was pleased with the effort and considered it a confidence builder for his young team, but wanted more pucks directed at Caps goalie Braden Holtby, who gathered himself after a rough start and made 35 stops on the night.
“We had so many opportunities to shoot and we wouldn't, we wanted to pass it into the net instead of shoot it into the net.… Babcock said. “I thought Wilson did a good job of just doing that (on the game winner), you just turn and you throw it on net. That's playoff hockey. Things bounce to somebody and it goes in or you get a second chance. I didn't think we did a good job of that.…
Glove aint looking bad, either. Andersen's patience is superb: he follows the pass but doesn't sprawl or commit till the shot. pic.twitter.com/Dh4pr8L3YG
— InGoal Magazine (@InGoalMedia) April 14, 2017
Toronto showed more composure than expected from a club with little postseason experience, but showed an inability to hold the lead that plagued them during the season and will only disappear with maturity and upgrades to their defense.
Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri and Auston Matthews were all at or under 50% on draws on Thursday. Veteran Brian Boyle was the only Leafs center with any success (13 of 17) in the faceoff circle.
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The news is not promising for the return of Nikita Zaitsev. Babcock indicated that the defenseman is expected to miss Game 2 of the series on Saturday.
Zaitsev did some off-ice work on an exercise bike, but has not been cleared medically to resume skating. The Leafs head coach said to not expect any changes to the blueline for Game 2, which means Marincin will play over Alexey Marchenko.
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