Maple Leafs at Capitals preview

MAPLE LEAFS (4-1-0) at CAPITALS (2-1-1)
7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, NBCSWA, NHL.TV

The Maple Leafs center leads the NHL in goals (nine) and is tied for the League lead in points with Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (12). Matthews could become the second player in Toronto history to score a goal in the first six games of a season and have multiple points in each of those games. He would join Sweeney Schriner, who accomplished each in 1944-45.
Matthews also is looking to extend his point streak to six games, which would be his longest in the NHL.
The Capitals are coming off their first regulation loss of the season, 6-0 at the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
Center Nicklas Backstrom (one goal, five assists), defenseman John Carlson (two goals, four assists) and forward T.J. Oshie (four goals, two assists) each has six points for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Players to watch

Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) through five games. A six-game point streak to begin a season would be the longest by a defenseman in Toronto history.
Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (three goals, four assists) had four points (one goal, three assists) in a 5-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. Including the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he has done that five times since the start of last season.

They said it

"One of the reasons you win in the National League is you're deeper down the middle than other teams and I thought [the Capitals] were the deepest team that way last year. Kuznetsov, Backstrom - they're all unique players. I don't know who the [No. 1] is and I don't know who the [No. 2] is. But they're good. We're in a situation as we mature into a group that we're set up like that as well." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock
"They made some good acquisitions this summer, got some big-name players, and it's definitely a challenge tonight. Looking forward to seeing our response from an outcome and a game that we didn't really like in New Jersey." -- Capitals coach Todd Reirden

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Patrick Marleau -- Auston Matthews -- Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Hyman -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner
Par Lindholm -- Nazem Kadri -- Connor Brown
Josh Leivo -- Frederik Gauthier -- Andreas Johnsson
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner -- Nikita Zaitsev
Travis Dermott -- Igor Ozhiganov
Frederik Andersen
Garret Sparks
Scratched: Justin Holl, Martin Marincin, Tyler Ennis
Injured: None

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Chandler Stephenson
Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky -- Lars Eller -- Brett Connolly
Dmitrij Jaskin -- Nic Dowd -- Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Brooks Orpik -- Christian Djoos
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched:Madison Bowey, Nathan Walker, Jayson Megna
Injured:Travis Boyd (lower body)
Suspended:Tom Wilson

Status report

Johnsson returns to the lineup in place of Ennis after sitting the past two games. … Stephenson replaces Connolly on the top line at right wing.

Stat pack

Marleau is two assists shy of 600 for his career. … The Maple Leafs are tied for the NHL's top power play (7-for-14, 50 percent). The Capitals rank fourth (6-for-16, 37.5 percent).