Capitals 5, Maple Leafs 1
Capitals 5, Maple Leafs 1: Captain Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 28th goal and added an assist as host Washington won its eighth straight game.
Martin Erat also had a goal and an assist for his first points with the Capitals, who have not lost in April and remained four points ahead of second-place Winnipeg in the Southeast Division. Marcus Johansson, Troy Brouwer and defenseman Jack Hillen also scored and Braden Holtby made 29 saves.
Mikhail Grabovski scored and Ben Scrivens stopped 32 shots for Toronto, which saw its five-game point streak (4-0-1) come to an end. The Maple Leafs reside in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of provincial-rival Ottawa.
Ovechkin, who has 10 goals this month, fired a shot that Erat tipped past Scrivens 5:03 into the second period to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead. He added a goal of his own with a one-timer from the left faceoff circle on the power play with 6:01 remaining in the session to make it 4-0.
Toronto forward Joffrey Lupul returned after missing five games with a concussion but was called for hooking on his first shift - 42 seconds into the contest. That set the tone for the Maple Leafs, who were on their heels all night against the red-hot Capitals after managing only 13 shots in a victory over New Jersey on Monday.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Washington finished 2-for-6 with the man advantage, ending Toronto’s streak of seven straight games without allowing a power-play goal. ... Ovechkin has 46 points in 30 career games against the Maple Leafs. ... Hillen has six points in his last five games. ... Toronto RW Phil Kessel was held without a goal for the first time in five contests and saw his five-game point streak come to an end. ... The Capitals’ winning streak is their longest since a nine-game run from Feb. 26-March 15, 2011.