1. Capitals start night in virtually identical fashion to Game 3, take two-goal lead early in opening period. In the Leafs' 4-3 overtime win in Game 3 Monday, Toronto gave up the first goal of the night to the Capitals at the 2:43 mark of the first period, then went down 2-0 to the visitors at 4:49 of the frame. And that's virtually exactly how the first period of Game 4 started Wednesday: Washington got the first goal of the night at 2:58 from winger T.J. Oshie, who was assisted on the play by centre Nicklas Backstrom and defenceman Nate Schmidt - the same three players who combined to score the Caps' first goal in Game 3 - and they made it 2-0 at the 4:34 mark thanks to a power play marker from winger Alex Ovechkin, who also had the second goal of Game 3.
The similarities were eerie, and equally ominous for the Leafs, who were outshot by the Capitals 15-6 in the first 20 minutes and were far too lax and unstructured in their own zone Wednesday.
Five Takeaways - Leafs vs. Capitals - 04/19/17
Here are five takeaways from the Maple Leafs' 5-4 loss to the Washington Capitals in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series Wednesday at Air Canada Centre: