Caps Host Leafs | Washington capitals

Nov. 13 against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Capital One Arena

Time: 19:30

TV: MNMT

Radio: 106.7 Fanen, Kasketter Radio 24/7

Toronto Maple Leafs (9-6-2)

Washington Capitals (10-4-0)

Washington will get its first 2024-25 look at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night when the Leafs come to the district to finish off a set of midweek back-to-back games. Wednesday’s game is the Caps’ tenth home game of the season, which is barely a month old. And after Toronto’s visit to the city, the Capitals’ schedule gets heavy on the roads; Washington plays 14 of its next 21 games away from the friendly confines of Capital One Arena.

In the wake of Saturday’s 8-1 dismantling of the Blues in St. Louis returned Cap’s home to enjoy a planned Sunday off. After an optional practice Monday, the Caps reconvene for a full practice Tuesday as they prepare for a stretch of four games in six nights, all against formidable foes.

And early Tuesday night, the Caps announced the first trade of the Chris Patrick era. Just over four months after being named the Capitals’ senior vice president and general manager, Patrick packed up a pair of draft picks — Washington’s own third-rounder in 2027 and Chicago’s fifth-rounder in 2025 — and sent them to Pittsburgh in exchange for old friend Lars Eller.

Eller was a key member of Washington’s 2017-18 Stanley Cup championship team — he scored a number of big goals in the playoffs, including the Game 5 Cup clincher on June 7, 2018 — and the 35-year-old center returns to the fold a month into the season 2024-25, more than 20 months since he left for Colorado in a trade on March 1, 2023.

With Pittsburgh this season, Eller had four goals and seven points in 17 games, which ranked him fifth among all-time Penguins scorers. Otherwise, 56 percent face-off win rate this season ranks him 17th in the league among those who have taken at least 150 draws. Washington’s team face-off rate of 47.7 percent ranks 26th in the circuit.

As a Penguin this season, Eller’s 16:25 nightly ice time average ranked fifth among team forwards. His 2:08 per game average in shorthanded ice time was third among Pittsburgh forwards.

In a follow-up transaction to the Eller acquisition, Washington loaned center Mike Sgarbossa to AHL Hershey. Sgarbossa had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s win over the Blues in St. Louis.

A month into the season, there’s a lot to like about the way the Capitals are playing. They have won 10 of 14 games to start the season and are yet to lose two games in a row. That’s a claim only three other teams can make, including fellow Metro Division residents Carolina and the New York Rangers. Scotty Arniel’s 15-1-0 Winnipeg Jets are obviously the other.

Among Washington’s eight goals in Saturday’s game were a pair of power play attacks in the third period. The Caps entered that game ranked last in the league with the extra man, but their 5-on-5 excellence has helped mask some early struggles on the power play.

Washington’s top line of Aliaksei Protas, Dylan Strome and Alex Ovechkin has outscored the opposition 13-4 at 5-on-5 through 14 games. And Washington’s second line of Connor McMichael, PL Dubois and Tom Wilson has added a dozen goals at 5-on-5 while controlling play for a 61.87 percent share of all shots on net while on the ice.

“I think everybody in here is just having a lot of fun,” says Caps center PL Dubois. “It’s a cliché and it’s not the most exciting answer, but when you turn up on the pitch and everyone has a smile on their face and everyone is happy to be here, it changes a lot.

“Whether we’re down a game or we don’t have the start we want, there will be ups and downs. But I think this group is really resilient and we enjoy it all together at the same time. As the season goes on, we will have some ups and downs. But when you have a close group, it helps.”

Toronto takes a one-game respite from a heavy home slate to fly south and take on the Capitals in DC on Wednesday. The Leafs wrapped up a four-game homestand against Atlantic Division opponents on Tuesday and will immediately return home for three more home games, starting with a Saturday night tilt against the Edmonton Oilers.

The Leafs tried to run the table in the aforementioned four-game homestand against the Atlantic, and they failed by falling in the finale on Tuesday night. Against the Ottawa Senators, the Leafs fell early when Ottawa’s Josh Norris scored in the first minute of the game. The Sens struck for a pair of quick ones in the second, scoring twice in 43 seconds to deepen the Toronto hole.

The two goals gave the Sens a nice cushion, but they only needed the Norris marker in a 3-0 win over Toronto. Tuesday’s setback ended the Leafs’ modest three-game winning streak, their second three-game streak of the season. Toronto also opened the season with a shutout loss, falling 1-0 to Sam Montembeault and the Canadiens in Montreal on October 9.