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The 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday was another example of Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin putting on a show for the viewers on Hockey Night in Canada, but from the perspective of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was a solid overall performance foiled by a few mistakes.
In spite of getting a quick start and managing some early scoring chances on Braden Holtby, the Capitals led 3-0 after 40 minutes, as Ovechkin beating Leafs backup Curtis McElhinney twice in his first start since November 11.
Alex Ovechkin picks up the puck as the boos reign down and then scores and silences the Toronto crowd pic.twitter.com/lj4szg099J
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) November 26, 2017
“(Ovechkin) touched it twice and shot it in the net twice.… Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “I liked our game even in the second when (Jakub Vrana) scored to make it 3-0. I thought we fell off for the next five or six minutes, then we had a real push at the end of the period and then obviously a real push in the third. The bottom line is you can't be behind and catch up very often in the National Hockey League.…
The defensive combo of Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev were victimized on the third Capitals goal, with Gardiner failing to win a puck battle along the boards and Zaitsev out of position to catch the streaking Vrana, but both made up for it with third period goals to narrow the Washington lead to 3-2.
Toronto could not manage the equalizer and Ovechkin scored an insurance goal into an empty net to give him a league-leading 18 goals on the season. After Carolina pelted starter Frederik Andersen with a season-high 47 shots in a 5-4 win on Friday, the Leafs limited Washington to 21 shots.
The Leafs have played McElhinney only in the second of back-to-back games and the 34-year-old is 2-2, with a 3.04 GAA and .900 save percentage. He was shaky in a 6-3 win over Detroit and allowed five goals in a loss to Los Angeles, but was named first star in a 4-1 win over Boston on November 11.
Andersen is tied with Henrik Lundqvist and Cam Talbot for the most starts in the NHL with 21. With Toronto having 14 back-to-backs this season, the Leafs starter is on pace to play in 68 games. Andersen has thrived with the heavy workload and it is conceivable that could last throughout the season, but Babcock is not going out of his way to give McElhinney any more starts than he absolutely has to.
The Leafs have three back-to-backs in December and have Garret Sparks and Calvin Pickard putting up excellent numbers in the American Hockey League.
Sparks is 10-2-0-2, 1.50 GAA and .947 save percentage with the Toronto Marlies after a 2-1 shootout victory over Belleville on Saturday and Pickard has five wins in seven starts, with a 2.03 GAA and .930 save percentage for the Leafs AHL affiliate after winning 5-1 over the Senators on Sunday.
Trusted by the head coach, McElhinney will have rope that Jhonas Enroth did not enjoy, but results will be all that matters. If he falters, the Leafs have internal options that they did not have last season.
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