Toronto @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 21, 2019 ) Washington 3, Toronto 2

The Washington Capitals are winless (0-1-2) in their first three games at home for the first time since 1983-84 but hope to give their fans reason to cheer when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. The Capitals gave up four goals in the first 9 minutes, 25 seconds of Monday’s 6-3 loss to Colorado at Capital One Arena and are seeking more consistency to their play.

“We got away from our team identity right from the start,” Washington coach Todd Reirden told reporters of his team’s performance on Monday. “You could see the difference when we played to our identity and started to be physical and forecheck, now the whole game changed. We’ve got to be able to do that for 60 full minutes.” The Capitals dropped two of three in the 2018-19 season series against the Maple Leafs, who scored four times in the second period to beat Minnesota 4-2 on Tuesday after managing one victory (1-2-1) in their previous four contests. Toronto's Mitch Marner recorded three points (one goal) and defenseman Morgan Rielly set up four tallies in the middle session on Tuesday to tie the franchise record for assists in one period (Rick Vaive, 1984). Frederik Andersen got the victory with a 27-save performance against the Wild, which could mean backup Michael Hutchinson will make his second start on Wednesday.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet One, TVA (Toronto), NBCS Washington

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (4-2-1): Auston Matthews scored his team-best seventh goal on Tuesday and has eight points overall - one behind Marner and Rielly for the club lead. Captain John Tavares tallied for the second time in three games while Andreas Johnsson recorded a goal and assist against Minnesota for his first multi-point performance of the campaign. The Maple Leafs loaned 19-year-old Swede Rasmus Sandin (two assists in six games) to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on Monday and recalled fellow defenseman Kevin Gravel, who was scratched for the win over the Wild.

ABOUT THE CAPITALS (3-2-2): Braden Holtby lasted just 7 minutes, 54 seconds on Monday, allowing three goals on as many shots, and looks to find his top form after posting one win and an .868 save percentage in five games this season. “It’s a team, and we’re a team,” Reirden said of Holtby. “I’m sure there are some things that he would have liked to have done different. But there’s some things that a lot of us would have liked to have done different. We’re in this together.” Defenseman John Carlson has notched at least one point in six of his seven games this season and leads the team with 11, including a club-high nine assists.

OVERTIME

1. The Maple Leafs converted on two of their three power-play opportunities on Tuesday and are 7-for-25 on the season.

2. Washington captain Alex Ovechkin has scored four of his team-leading five goals in the last three contests.

3. Maple Leafs RW Ilya Mikheyev (five points) and C Trevor Moore (three goals), both rookies, lead the club with plus-5 ratings.

PREDICTION: Capitals 4, Maple Leafs 3