Connor McMichael scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, and the Washington Capitals won 3-1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night, setting a franchise record with their eighth straight road victory.
Nic Dowd had a goal and an assist, while Aliaksei Protas added an empty-net goal for Washington, who has won five of their last six games (5-0-1). Charlie Lindgren made 20 saves in the first game of a three-game road trip.
John Tavares scored for the Maple Leafs, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end during the final game of their homestand. Anthony Stolarz made 23 saves in goal.
Both teams took two minor penalties in the scoreless first period.
Dowd deflected a shot from Matt Roy at 1:06 in the second period to score his eighth goal of the season. This marked Dowd’s second consecutive game with a goal.
Less than three minutes later, Toronto’s William Nylander missed a breakaway attempt when his backhand shot went wide.
Tavares did not miss on his breakaway at 11:31 in the second period, scoring his 12th goal of the season with a backhand shot after a long pass from Chris Tanev.
Toronto nearly took the lead when Auston Matthews hit the crossbar with a 44-foot wrist shot at 12:47 in the second period.
Washington went on a power play at 3:19 in the third period but did not get a shot on goal.
McMichael scored his 15th goal of the season after Pierre-Luc Dubois’ shot was saved, and the rebound hit an official behind the net and bounced toward the goal.
Lindgren made key saves at 18:36 and 18:46 as Toronto put pressure on with Stolarz pulled for an extra attacker.
Protas sealed the win with his ninth goal of the season, scoring into an empty net with 57 seconds left in the game.
The Maple Leafs had won 4-3 in overtime against the Capitals on Nov. 13 in their first meeting of the season.
Toronto defenseman Jake McCabe missed his third straight game due to an upper-body injury.
