Washington Capitals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Takeaways From Game 4 Win

The Washington Capitals have tied their first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Here are some takeaways from Game 4’s win.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Washington Capitals came out strong in Game 4. Their four first period goals proved to be too much for the Toronto Maple Leafs to overcome. Washington ended Wednesday evening with a 5-4 win in Game 4. With the series tied, the Caps regain home ice advantage and head home to the Verizon Center for Friday’s Game 5.

There are some good things they can take away from Game 4. At the same time, there are some things the Caps should work on going into Game 5. Since Friday’s game will be a very pivotal game in the series, the Capitals need to focus on these things. Here are some takeaways from Game 4’s win.

Strong Starts

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The Washington Capitals are definitely starting strong. Despite facing an energetic and at times hostile crowd in Toronto, in both Games 3 and 4, they got two early goals. In Game 4, the Caps put the Maple Leafs behind the eight ball early with four first period goals. That’s one heck of a way to start a game.

Moving forward, the Caps need more strong starts like the past two games. Scoring early sets the tone for the rest of the game and immediately puts pressure on the other team to play catch up.

However, more players have to get involved in the strong starts. The first line has been responsible for four of the six goals scored in their last two first periods. Alex Ovechkin has two of them while Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie each have one. Third line forward Tom Wilson has the other two. Wilson’s Game 4 performance is precisely what the Capitals need. The third line needs to continue to put pressure on the Leafs. It would be great to see the second line get in on the action. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams and Marcus Johansson need to get involved in these strong starts.

Holding Leads

One thing the Washington Capitals must work on fixing is how they’re holding onto leads. They aren’t doing a good job of it. In Game 3, the Caps blew a 3-1 lead. They nearly blew it in Game 4, but luckily, Oshie responded after Auston Matthews cut Toronto’s deficit to 4-3. A huge reason for this has been the deployment of certain fourth line forwards. Some of them are getting more ice time than the third line and that’s not acceptable. Jay Beagle got more ice time than Ovechkin in Game 4. There is no reason for a fourth line forward to get more playing time than your captain.

Ovechkin needs to be getting more playing time. He’s not going to confuse anyone for Patrice Bergeron, but he can create scoring chances better than any other Capitals forward. The third line has been one of the most dominant possession lines in the Stanley Cup playoffs, yet they’re being deployed like a fourth line. It’s on Barry Trotz to get his best players more playing time.

Riding The Hot Hand

The Washington Capitals made a bit of a bold decision, switching Wilson and Brett Connolly in the lineup. While the former moved up to the third line, the latter got knocked to the fourth line and saw under 10 minutes of playing time. This is a great example of riding the hot hand.

Moving forward, the Capitals need to be very willing to make such moves. If someone’s red hot, ride them until they cool off. The Capitals depth allows them to do this. Trotz needs to seriously consider putting Wilson on the first line and moving Oshie to the third line. Maybe this helps him trust the third line a little bit more. Wilson is great at making life difficult for goalies and he is playing with a ton of confidence.

If it doesn’t work out, the Caps can put Oshie back on the first line and Wilson back on the third line. It’s a wrinkle the Washington Capitals have to at least consider, given number 43’s play so far in the series.

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The Caps need to play their best game in Game 5. They now know how resilient and relentless the Maple Leafs are. Hopefully they come out on top on Friday and transfer all the pressure onto Toronto.

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