The Toronto Maple Leafs must keep pace in the tight Eastern Conference, as they continue their longest road trip of the season against the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center on Sunday afternoon.
The match features Alexander Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 45 goals and Toronto’s Phil Kessel, who is tied for second in the league with 73 points and fourth in goals with 34.
The Caps post-season chances are fading, as they are in 10th place in the Conference with and trail Columbus, New York and Philadelphia in the race for a top three spot in the Metropolitan Division. Washington is 3-4-1 in March and ended a two game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over Vancouver on Friday.
Toronto have a precarious one point lead over Tampa Bay and Montreal for second spot in the Atlantic Division and did not get any help on the scoreboard Saturday, as the Ottawa Senators blew a 4-1 lead to the Canadiens with 5 minutes remaining in regulation and lost 5-4 in overtime, while Ben Bishop registered his fifth shutout of the season in a 3-0 Lightning win over New Jersey.
Montreal could overtake Toronto if the Leafs lose and the Habs win on back-to-back nights against the 30th place Sabres in Buffalo. The Leafs need to maintain their advantage over their two divisional foes, who they will face later in the week at Air Canada Center.
James Reimer will play in his third straight game and is coming off his best outing of the season, a 31 save relief effort in Los Angeles on Thursday night. Team captain Dion Phaneuf did not participate in practice in Washington on Saturday, with his absence described as a "maintenance day", but later it was revealed that he was suffering from the same flu bug that hit teammates Cody Franson and Peter Holland earlier in the road trip.
The lower body injury suffered by goaltender Jonathan Bernier on Thursday necessitated the emergency recall of veteran Drew MacIntyre from the Toronto Marlies, who will serve as Reimer’s backup in Washington.
Bernier received treatment on the lower body injury and reports indicate that it is not serious and is not expected to keep the 25-year-old netminder long term, but the club may have Bernier undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.
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