The Capitals had a busy day: Devante Smith-Pelly cleared waivers and was then sent to join the Hershey Bears, and then GMBM finessed a trade that sent forward Carl Hagelin, minus 50% of his remaining salary, to Washington and two draft picks to the LA Kings. They wrapped up their whirlwind day at Scotiabank Arena to face the Maple Leafs, who were looking to avoid their third straight loss and were without the talents of center Nazem Kadri, who is out with a concussion.
The game got off to a speedy start with a lot of trading chances in the first period, but the Caps took over in the second and went up 2-0 with goals from Alex Ovechkin and Brett Connolly.