“I AM LEAVING”: Maple Leafs announced that Auston Matthews is leaving immediately after facing….
March 21 – On Wednesday, the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Washington Capitals 7-3 thanks to two goals
The Maple Leafs (39-20-9, 87 points), led by John Tavares and William Nylander, each with a goal and two assists, avoided a three-game losing streak that would have started in mid-January. Tyler Bertuzzi, Bobby McMann, and Jake McCabe all scored, and Toronto’s Joseph Woll made 18 saves.
For the first time since mid-November, the Capitals (33-26-9, 75 points) failed to win four games in a row. Charlie Lindgren saved 22 shots, while Alex Ovechkin scored two goals to draw within fifty of Wayne Gretzky’s record for the all-time NHL lead.
Ovechkin has eighty-five goals in his NHL career, 23 goals this season, and five goals in the last three games. Connor McMichael scored a goal for Washington as well.
Dallas defeated visiting Arizona with a three-goal second half led by Jamie Benn, who scored in his 1,100th career game.
Dallas triumphed for the eighth time in nine games, overcoming a 1-0 deficit behind goals from Logan Stankoven and Tyler Seguin in between Benn’s goal. Jake Oettinger stopped 23 shots, and the Stars added goals from Craig Smith and Jason Robertson (two points) at 1:13 intervals early in the third period.
The Coyotes, who came in off consecutive wins after a 1-4-0 slump, were led by Clayton Keller and John Leonard in their scoring while Connor Ingram made 28 stops.
Kings 6, Wild 0
Host Los Angeles defeated Minnesota with a goal and an assist from Anze Kopitar, who now has over 1,200 points in his career. David Rittich recorded his third shutout of the year, a career best.
For the Kings, Matt Roy and Jordan Spence each added a goal, while Phillip Danault, Kevin Fiala, and Viktor Arvidsson each scored one goal and provided an assist. Rittich recorded his seventh career shutout with 31 saves. Trevor Moore, Adrian Kempe, and Drew Doughty all had two assists.