Matthews has 5 points, Maple Leafs pull away to defeat Capitals

WASHINGTON -- Auston Matthews had two goals and three assists in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 7-3 win against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Wednesday.

Matthews tied his NHL career high with five points, and linemate Max Domi had four assists for the Maple Leafs (39-20-9), who had lost two straight (0-1-1) and were coming off a 4-3 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. William Nylander and John Tavares each had a goal and two assists, and Joseph Woll made 18 saves in his first start since March 7.

“Those guys had a little more time with the puck today and they just made plays,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Max was outstanding. I thought Auston put on a clinic through most of the game here tonight.”

Toronto leads the Tampa Bay Lightning by seven points for third place in the Atlantic Division.

Alex Ovechkin scored twice for the Capitals (33-26-9), who had won three straight and trail the Detroit Red Wings by one point for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Charlie Lindgren made 23 saves.

“Obviously we have zero answer for [Matthews] tonight. So that’s an issue,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “Even though for the most part I thought we did a lot of good things, we just had some isolated incidents that were uncharacteristic and just can’t happen this time of year.”

Matthews gave Toronto a 1-0 lead 16 seconds into the game. Domi got to a loose puck behind the Washington net and passed in front to Matthews, who scored from just beyond the crease.

“He's such a smart player out there,” Matthews said of Domi. “He makes the game easy, he can make plays, he moves spatially well and just communicates a lot out there, so it just makes it easier on myself and [Tyler Bertuzzi] to move into space and try to find each other. Really liked the chemistry tonight.”

Nylander made it 2-0 at 56 seconds of the second period. He received a pass from Tavares and scored over Lindgren’s left shoulder from the right face-off circle.

Ovechkin pulled the Capitals within 2-1 on the power play at 9:57 with a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle off a pass from John Carlson.

Matthews made it 3-1 at 12:59 when he scored through a screen on a wrist shot from the right point for his NHL-leading 57th goal of the season.

"It's just the response from the next line going out and just trying to set the tone and get the momentum back on our side,” Matthews said. “It's really as simple as that, and when they did close the gap we had a response, which was a good thing to see. We just want to carry that over. These games get more and more important through the stretch.”

Connor McMichael cut it to 3-2 at 13:34. Rasmus Sandin’s shot went off the end boards, and McMichael banked the puck in off Woll from below the goal line.

Matthews appeared to complete the hat trick at 16:42, but the goal was overturned after Washington challenged for offside.

Toronto pushed it to 4-2 at 19:35 when Domi’s shot deflected off Jake McCabe and past Lindgren.

“As soon as we get closer to them, they find a way to add to the lead,” said Ovechkin, the Washington captain. “It’s frustrating.”

Ovechkin pulled the Capitals within 4-3 at 6:42 of the third period, scoring on a wrist shot from the left circle off a pass from Dylan Strome to give him five goals in his past three games.

Bobby McMann extended it to 5-3 at 7:58, and Bertuzzi gave the Maple Leafs a 6-3 lead at 8:36 when he scored at the right side of the net off a no-look backhand pass from Matthews.

“I like that we faced adversity throughout,” McCann said. “They would score and we'd get one back right away and we weren't really fazed by it. We were just kind of playing our game and sticking with it.”

Tavares scored a power-play goal at 16:02 for the 7-3 final.

“We’ve been playing really good hockey lately and I think this is going to be a one-off for our group,” McMichael said. “We’re still in the fight and we know how close we are, so I’m sure we’re going to respond.”

NOTES: Matthews set the Maple Leafs record for most multigoal games in a season (16). He also had 15 in 2021-22 and had been tied with Rick Vaive (1983-84). … Nylander has scored in four consecutive games and has seven points (four goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. … Tavares has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past three games. … With 1,539 points (845 goals, 694 assists), Ovechkin tied Joe Thornton for 13th in NHL history. He also has 34 points (17 goals, 17 assists) in his past 32 games. … Capitals forwards T.J. Oshie (upper body) and Aliaksei Protas (lower body) were scratched. Each is day to day.