WASHINGTON (AP) — Rasmus Sandin scored the go-ahead goal with 3:23 left, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Capitals 5-3 Monday night, handing Washington a sixth consecutive home loss and third overall.
The Capitals bounced back after falling behind less than three minutes in, and dug out of a 3-1 hole to tie it in the third period on Tom Wilson’s second goal of the game. Vitek Vanecek stopped the first 16 shots he faced in relief of Ilya Samsonov, but couldn’t make a save on Sandin’s shot after young defenseman Martin Fehervary was stripped of the puck in the corner.
Pierre Engvall added an empty-netter with 1:01 left to seal Washington’s 10th loss in its last 13 home games.
Goaltending and defensive miscues were to blame for the latest defeat. Fehervary wiped out in the corner on Michael Bunting’s goal 2:35 in, William Nylander beat Samsonov five-hole and Justin Holl scored on a net-front scramble with 1.6 seconds left in the first period.
Samsonov was pulled at the first intermission after giving up three goals on 10 shots.
Toronto has won three in a row, though this was another performance that does not inspire confidence about the playoff-bound team being able to keep the puck out of its own net. Two nights after winning 10-7 at Detroit, the Maple Leafs needed every bit of their offense with Petr Mrazek again struggling in goal.
Mrazek allowed three goals on 33 shots in a rare start over first-time NHL All-Star Jack Campbell, who was pulled in the Red Wings game.
Conor Sheary also scored for the Capitals, who were lightly booed off the ice at the final horn.
NOTES: Washington defenseman Justin Schultz was out for the third time in four games because of an upper-body injury. Forward Daniel Sprong was a surprise healthy scratch. ... Capitals alum Bill Riley and granddaughter Kryshanda Green took part in a ceremonial puck drop as part of the team’s Black History Night tribute. ... Maple Leafs captain John Tavares stayed in the lineup despite battling an illness.
UP NEXT
Toronto: Host Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.
Washington: Host Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday in the second game of a three-game homestand.
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