Maple Leafs, Capitals aim to extend winning streaks (Jan 03, 2017)
WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs both enter Tuesday night's game trying to extend winning streaks.
Washington edged the Ottawa Senators, 2-1, on Sunday, thanks to an early third-period goal from Taylor Chorney, who's been scratched throughout much of this season. The Capitals now have won two in a row.
The Leafs won their fifth straight game with a 5-4 overtime victory against the Detroit Red Wings in the Centennial Classic outdoors in Toronto on Sunday, getting the game-winning goal from rookie sensation Auston Matthews on a slick back-hand shot.
For Chorney, Sunday's game was just his seventh this season. The defenseman continues working hard in practice and trying to be ready when called upon, and this goal was the third in his NHL career.
"Up here, you just try to go out there and be reliable and if you get a chance to score a few goals here and there, you kind of take them," Chorney said Sunday. "As defensemen, we can all skate and get out there and guys have been making that a point. It's been working out for us."
This will be the second game of a three-game homestand for the Capitals, who won back-to-back games on Saturday (beating the New Jersey Devils) and Sunday (against the Senators).
Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin are each closing in on milestones for Washington. Backstrom needs two more assists to reach 500 in his career. Ovechkin is six points shy of 1,000..
Both players have played their entire career with the Capitals.
Washington re-assigned Jakub Vruna back to the team's AHL affiliate in Hershey on Sunday. He's been moved up and down a few times already this season and could be returning shortly as he's already played 12 games with the Capitals.
Matthews again led the way for Toronto in Sunday's win. He finished the game with two goals, the rookie now has 20 and remains among the league leaders in that category.
The 19-year old said Sunday that scoring the game-winning goal in front of over 40,000 fans in the outdoor game was something he'll remember. It was Matthews' first overtime goal, and he's scored in four straight contests.
"It's definitely one of the best moments in hockey I've experienced," Matthews said. "It's pretty special."
Toronto coach Mike Babcock liked watching how his team battled to pull out the tough victory on Sunday. Detroit forced the overtime with a last-second goal in regulation before Matthews came through in the extra period.
The Leafs could not hold on to a three-goal, third-period lead but rebounded to win.
"At playoff time in the NHL ... you're either up one or down one," Babcock said. "You've got to love the duress. You've got to love digging in and knowing you're going to get it done."
The Leafs also achieved a bit of history on Sunday when the NHL named former goalie Johnny Bower to the first part of its list of the 100 greatest players. Bower was part of the first 33 players the league revealed in the group.
