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TORONTO – Logan Thompson made 21 saves to register his third shutout of the season as the Washington Capitals breathed life into their fading playoff hopes with a 4-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
Dylan Strome and Martin Fehérváry, with a goal and an assist each, Ryan Leonard and Cole Hutson, into the empty net, scored for Washington (40-30-9), which sits three points back of the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card spot with three games left on the schedule.
Anthony Stolarz suffered a lower-body injury early in the first period after stopping the second of two shots he faced for Toronto (32-32-14).
Joseph Woll finished with 14 saves in just over 57 minutes of work for the Maple Leafs, who are set to miss the post-season for the first time since 2016.
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Alex Ovechkin — Washington’s leader with 31 goals and 61 points — announced Wednesday he won’t make a decision on his playing future until after the season.
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The 40-year-old broke Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal mark of 894 last April and has found the back of the net at least 30 times in 20 of his 21 NHL campaigns.
TAKEAWAYS
Capitals: Rookie forward Ilya Protas made his NHL debut on a line with older brother Aliaksei and Tom Wilson. The bruising trio — Wilson is the smallest at six-foot-four, while the siblings each stand six-foot-six — tips the scales at a combined 700 pounds.
Maple Leafs: Oliver Ekman-Larsson returned to the lineup after missing Saturday’s overtime loss in Los Angeles with a lower-body injury. The veteran defenceman is the club’s nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy, as voted by the Toronto chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
KEY MOMENT
Washington turned a one-goal lead into a 3-0 advantage early in the second period. Leonard ripped his 18th goal of the season 40 seconds after the restart before Fehérváry added his fifth just over two minutes later.
KEY STAT
Ovechkin has 45 goals and 35 assists for 80 points across 64 regular-season games against Toronto.
UP NEXT
Maple Leafs: Visit the New York Islanders on Thursday.
Capitals: Visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
