Josh Leivo scored his first goal of the season on a power play in the third period to break a tie and help the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Washington Capitals 4-2 Saturday night.
Auston Matthews added his 10th goal of the season late in the third to clinch Toronto’s fourth straight win. He also had an assist.
Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen made a series of good saves late in the third and 25 stops overall.
Kasperi Kapanen and Par Lindholm also scored for the Maple Leafs, who have won five of their first six games this season. Jake Gardiner added two assists.
Chandler Stephenson and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for Washington. Alex Ovechkin two assists.
Washington goalie Braden Holtby made 24 saves.
The Capitals took the lead 18 seconds into the game. Stephenson tucked the puck behind Andersen for his first goal of the season after Kuznetsov took a diagonal stretch pass from Ovechkin and shot on the net.
Washington had a 10-9 advantage in shots on goal in the first period.
The Maple Leafs tied the score at 3:30 of the second period when Kapanen scored his second goal of the season by deflecting a wrist shot from the left point by Ron Hainsey. Matthews picked up an assist.
The Capitals regained the lead on a power play when Kuznetsov snapped a shot from the lower edge of the right circle at 4:39 for his fourth goal this season. John Tavares was off for tripping. Nicklas Backstrom and Ovechkin earned assists.
Lindholm deflected Gardiner’s shot for his first career NHL goal at 18:53 of the second to tie the score again. Connor Brown earned the other assist.
The Capitals had a 19-14 edge on shots on goal after the second period.
The Maple Leafs took a 3-2 lead on the power play on Leivo’s first goal of the season, a wrist shot from the right of the goal at 6:28 of the third. Michal Kempane was off for high-sticking. Andreas Johnsson and Gardiner earned assists.
Matthews scored from the edge of the goal at 18:21 of the third with Kapanen and Morgan Rielly earning assists.