For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter
The Toronto Maple Leafs exacted a bit of revenge for their first round playoff loss to the Washington Capitals last season, as Connor Brown provided all the offense necessary in a 2-0 victory at Capital One Arena on Tuesday. Brown, who replaced Mitch Marner on a line with James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak, slid a rebound of a Morgan Rielly point shot past Caps goalie Braden Holtby early in the third period after both squads missed a number of great scoring opportunities in the opening 40 minutes.
"It's one thing to get to 1500 (games), it's another to be as good as he is." Leafs coach Mike Babcock said Wednesday morning. "We're lucky to have him here, we're excited to have him, we're excited for him today and we need to play in this situation for him."
The Leafs continue to rotate players in their lineup, as Eric Fehr replaces Dominic Moore at center on the fourth line and Andreas Borgman subs in for Calle Rosen on the bottom pairing with Connor Carrick. The most significant change will be backup Curtis McElhinney making his first start of the season. McElhinney went 6-7-0 in 14 games with Toronto last season and played well in the pre-season, but will have to continue to be a dependable option and keep the Leafs in games with Calvin Pickard waiting in the wings in the AHL. *******