Logan Thompson made 21 saves and the visiting Washington Capitals kept their slim Stanley Cup playoff hopes alive with a 4-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
It was Thompson’s third shutout of the season, two of them coming against Toronto.
Dylan Strome and Martin Fehervary each had a goal and an assist for the Capitals (40-30-9, 89 points), who have split their past four games. Ryan Leonard and Cole Hutson logged a goal apiece.
Washington is three points behind Ottawa for the second Eastern Conference wild card and three points behind Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Senators and Flyers each have four games remaining, while the Capitals have three left.
Capitals forward Ilya Protas, Washington’s third-round pick (75th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft, played 15:37 and had an assist in his NHL debut.
Joseph Woll allowed three goals on 17 shots for Maple Leafs (32-32-14, 78 points), who have lost three straight (0-2-1) and will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz left the game with a lower-body injury after making a pad save on a shot by Hutson 2:34 into the first period.
Strome gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 13:22 of the opening frame. Anthony Beauvillier entered the zone 2-on-1 and passed across to Strome, who scored on a one-timer from the right circle.
Leonard made it 2-0 just 40 seconds into the second period. Tom Wilson intercepted a pass in the defensive zone and passed to Leonard, who was just out of the penalty box and scored glove side on a breakaway.
Leonard’s 18 goals are the most by a Capitals rookie since Alex Ovechkin scored 52 in 2005-06.
Fehervary increased the lead to 3-0 at 2:53 of the second when his centering pass deflected off a Toronto defender and past Woll.
Hutson scored into an empty net at 16:10 of the third period for the 4-0 final.
