Hunter downplays it, but players say otherwise It says everything you need to know about the Capitals’ rough November that a 7-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs was not the low point.
That came a week later when an undermanned Buffalo Sabres squad missing nine regulars whipped Washington 5-1. That effort was enough to convince general manager George McPhee that coach Bruce Boudreau’s time with the organization had come to an end. Two days later, he fired Boudreau and hired Dale Hunter.
But the Toronto loss on Nov.?19 was troubling in its own right. The Maple Leafs were also short-handed that night, missing seven starters, including their starting goalie, James Reimer. But Toronto skated the Caps right off the ice at Air Canada Center before a Canadian national television audience. It scored five unanswered goals, including four in the second period. Washington gave up three power-play goals in all and a short-handed tally. Now the Caps have a chance to avenge that loss Friday night when they host Toronto at Verizon Center.
| Capitals notes |
| » According to an NHL spokesman, Alex Ovechkin will not face supplementary discipline for his stick to the gut of Ottawa forward Chris Neil in Wednesday’s 5-3 win. Neil was actually whistled for diving on the play. |
| » There’s no timetable for the return of Mike Green (right groin) or Jay Beagle (concussion), according to Caps coach Dale Hunter. Defenseman Roman Hamrlik (lower-body injury) has missed four games in a row, but his status will be determined Friday. |
| » Even with Nicklas Backstrom‘s power-play goal against Ottawa on Wednesday, Washington has scored just three times in its last 54 attempts with the man advantage dating to Nov. 8. |
“Anytime you can have a little extra fuel for the fire when you’re coming into a game it helps for your motivation, your desire to play that game,” forward Troy Brouwer said. “So for us we had a pretty tough loss in Toronto last time we played them. And we’re looking for a little redemption.”
Washington is also looking for a sustained stretch of winning hockey. The Caps (14-12-1, 29 points) lost their first two games under Hunter last week. But if they can win Friday, it will be their third victory in four games and will go a long way toward supporting the idea that they are headed in the right direction. The Maple Leafs remain ahead of Washington in the Eastern Conference standings with a 15-10-3 record and 33 points. They are gunning for their first Stanley Cup playoff berth since the 2003-04 season.
For the Caps, another loss would mean treading water, and that’s not something Hunter cares to see continue much longer. But he also doesn’t think revenge factors in Friday night — even if that previous loss to Toronto stung.
“They’re men now. They know what’s at stake here,” Hunter said. “It’s two big points. We need it, and they need it. Sometimes you have a game like that where nothing goes right. And that’s one of those games. That’s in the past. And we deal with the future here.”
