NHL Game of the Week: Washington Capitals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Despite some uncertainty from the Capitals before the season, the Capitals and Maple Leafs will square off in a battle of two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

Washington will head to Toronto with a puck drop of 7:00 p.m. Friday.

After getting its four-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday against the Devils, Washington looks to bounce back and start a new streak

The Capitals currently lead the entire Eastern Conference in points with 36 and have stayed red-hot despite the absence of one of the greatest players of all time, Alex Ovechkin.

The two-goalie system is working really well for Washington throughout the season with Logan Thompson having played 13 games compared to Charlie Lindgren’s 12 games this season.

Both goalies have a goals-against average of under three and it would be likely that the coaching staff sticks with both goalies for the foreseeable future.

On the offensive side, Dylan Strome continues to get better each year and is on pace for the best season of his career. The Capitals have gotten the best out of Strome over the past two seasons, but this season, with 34 points already, he’s the main catalyst to this shocking start for the Capitals.

Connor McMichael is the leading, active goal scorer for the Capitals. Ovechkin still leads the team in goals, but will likely still be out for another couple of weeks.

The Capitals have relied on some unlikely names so far this season and will look to do so against the Maple Leafs on Friday.

Toronto is a team that should be where it is in the standings. The Maple Leafs have 34 points this season and have a share of the lead in the Atlantic Division.

It’s the typical guys that are leading the way for Torono so far this season and the Maple Leafs continue to work towards making a run in the playoffs.

Mitch Marner leads the team in points with 36 on the season. He has completely stepped up since the absence of Auston Matthews, however, Matthews is now back from his injury and the Maple Leafs are seemingly at full strength for the matchup against Washington.

William Nylander and John Tavares have also provided consistent scoring when Matthews was out, but with him back, this team will likely be firing on all cylinders.

The goaltending has actually been pretty strong this season for the Leafs. In prior years, the goalie was consistently one of the issues, but Anthony Stolarz seems to be the No. 1 goaltender and will need to be big against the Capitals.

Stolarz is giving up just over two goals per game and for a game that would likely feature some high-scoring, the goalies might be the ones who steal the show.

Both teams have some great goal scorers, but Stolarz and Thompson or Lindgren can easily steal the show in a battle between two of the top teams, not only in the Eastern Conference but in the entire NHL.

Andrew Deal is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email asd5765@psu.edu