Toronto — Former Red Wing Tyler Bertuzzi scores twice for six points in seven games, Joseph Wall makes 24 saves in a comeback performance and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Washington Capitals in five games on Thursday night. I broke it with 1.
Mark Giordano, who was out with an injury, scored, and Connor Dewar and Bobby McMann added goals to lift Toronto to 41-22-9.
Nick Dowd responded for Washington, and Charlie Lindgren stopped 43 shots. The Capitals fell to 36 wins, 27 losses, and 9 draws while competing for a playoff spot. Washington still leads Detroit by two points in the wild-card race.
“There were plays to be made,” Capitals defenseman John Carlson said. “We just couldn’t make it.”
Wall has been consistent after allowing a goal on his first shot in each of his last two starts, including Tuesday night's 6-3 loss to New Jersey, where he faced Sheldon Keefe. The coach was furious at the “inexperienced” performance of all the players.
“That was huge for us,” Bertuzzi said of the response. “We weren’t letting off the gas.”
Auston Matthews, the NHL goal leader with 59 goals, played in Toronto after missing the morning skate due to illness. But he was a player the Maple Leafs lacked in a lot of talent. Top-line winger Mitch Marner missed nine straight games with a high ankle sprain, and defensemen Morgan Rielly (upper body), Timothy Liljegren (upper body) and Joel Edmundson (undisclosed) also missed the game.
Playing for the first time since suffering a concussion on February 29, Giordano scored his second goal of the season (his first in 31 games) midway through the first period. The league's oldest player, 40, pointed to the sky in memory of his late father Paul.
“It's been tough,” said his father, Giordano, who died on February 16 at the age of 75. ”
Other Thursday games
(at) Pittsburgh 3, Columbus 2: Evgeni Malkin scored twice to reach the 20-goal mark for the 15th time, extending Pittsburgh's advantage over Columbus.
The Russian became the 31st player in league history to score 20 goals in 15 seasons with two power-play outbursts that erased a one-goal deficit.
Drew O'Connor's 12th goal 35 seconds into the third period put Pittsburgh ahead and sealed the game. Sidney Crosby had two assists for the Penguins, giving him 995 career assists, 11th all-time in the NHL. The longtime captain has scored nine points in Pittsburgh's last three games.
Former Red Wing Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 17 shots for the Penguins and improved to 21-3-2 in his last 26 games against the Blue Jackets.
New York Islanders 3, (at)Florida 2: Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period.
Ryan Pulock and Matthew Barzal also scored, and Casey Cizikas had two assists for New York, which has lost six of its last seven games and dropped from the wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Aleksander Barkov's goal in the second period made him the first player in Panthers history to reach 700 points. Vladimir Tarasenko and Aleksander Barkov also scored and Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves for Florida, which lost eight of nine games and missed out on a chance to qualify for the postseason.
(Location) Ottawa 2, Chicago 0: Claude Giroux and Parker Kelly scored and Ottawa defeated Chicago for its fourth straight win.
Anton Forsberg made 19 saves for his second shutout of the season and fifth of his career.
It was Ottawa's first win against Chicago since December 20, 2016, and ended an 11-game losing streak.
Former Red Wing Petr Mrazek made 32 saves. The Blackhawks, who are in last place, have won two straight games.
Fans gathered near the glass during warmups to watch Chicago rookie Connor Bedard, but the 18-year-old center was taken off the scoresheet.
playoff tracker
atlantic ocean
▶ Bruins (99)
▶ Panthers (97)
▶ Maple leaves (89)
metropolitan
▶ Rangers (100)
▶ Hurricane (97)
▶ Flyers (82)
Wildcard
▶ Lightning (87)
▶ Capital (81)
(Top 2 wild card teams advance to playoffs)
(Excluding Thursday games)
▶ Red Wings (79)
▶ Devils (76)
▶ Islanders (75)
▶ Sabers (73)
▶ Penguin (72)
If the playoffs start on Friday
Eastern Conference Playoffs bracket
▶ (1M) Rangers vs. Capitals (WC2)
▶ (A2) Panthers vs. Maple Leafs (A3)
▶ (1A) Bruins vs. Lightning (WC1)
▶ (2M) Hurricanes vs. (3M) Flyers
Remaining games of wild card race
Capital (81 points)
▶ Home (5): Bruins, Penguins, Senators, Lightning, Bruins
▶ Away (5): Saber, Hurricane, Wing, Saber, Flyers
red wing (79)
▶ Home (4): Rangers, Sabers, Capitals, Canadiens
▶ Away (5): panther, lightning, penguin, leaves, canadian
Islanders (75)
▶ Home (5): Blackhawk, Predator, Ranger, Canadian, Penguin
▶ away (6): Panthers, Lightning, Flyers, Blue Jackets, Rangers, Devils
Michigan area hockey this week
Thursday
▶ Hurricanes 4, Red Wings 0
▶ Madison 4, NTDP U17 0
Friday
▶ Grand Rapids at Chicago, 8 p.m. (AHL/106.9/97.1)
▶ Michigan State vs. Western Michigan, 5 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN+)
▶ Michigan vs. North Dakota, 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
▶ Michigan Tech vs. Boston College, 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
▶ NTDP U18 at Dubuque, 8 p.m.
Saturday
▶ Red Wings at Florida, 12:30 p.m. (NHL/BSD Extra/97.1)
▶ Grand Rapids at Milwaukee, 7 p.m. (AHL/106.9/1300)
▶ NTDP U18 at Dubuque, 8 p.m.
Sunday
▶ Frozen 4 Regional Finals, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Wednesday
▶ Grand Rapids 5, Cleveland 2
Tuesday
▶ Capitals 4, Red Wings 3 (OT)
