can't wait to get out on that ice. our fans are loud, exciting and very supportive. so it makes it very easy to play in front of. >> my first couple of years, we got in and we had our faithful fans. it's great but you don't have that rocking, that sound that we had the last couple of years. it gets the guys energized. you can hear the crowd, especially at the end of the game if it's close. bruce has a hard time talking to husband on the bench because it gets so loud. >> our fans are awesome. >> we made the playoffs a couple of years ago. our fans were going crazy, one of the louder fans in the league. our fans are the best, i think, in the nhl. they are loud. >> they are great. i mean they know when to cheer. they are hockey knowledgeable. >> they heckle the other team a

little bit. it's a lot of fun. that's a great atmosphere. >> they bring a lot of excitement to us on the ice. when we scored four goals, they are he can at that stick in the finance. >> our fans are unbelievable. it's just one big show and i like it and i hope they're going to stay like that. >> it does something to you when you see a cityenergized. it police a lft pride to our city and to our locker room. we want to represent the city the best we can. >> hockey is now part of the town and the fans have responded. washington, i think, is a hockey town now. >> they come to the game with their input. coming to a washington capitals game, that's not just a game anymore. >> they are so boisterous and fun to watch. they really carry us through an awful lot of the time when we are tired and we have maybe

nothing left. the fans will come in and they'll keep building us up and we'll find the energy to carry us through >> joe: the guys who wear the red, white and blue recognize the fans and caps fans, you should be proud because the opposing teams are also saying better and better things about the wild atmosphere at verizon. 1-0 caps after 1. highlights next

it's the washington capitals who have won five of the last seven, 11 of the last 17. so far so good. locker, how would you rate washington's start tonight i. i'm in a grading mood. i'm giving them a c for the start. not the time of therm i thought they would come out with against the leafs. the leafs, when you look at their record, they know they have won one game, they are at the bottom of the basement and i thought the leafs had a pretty good period. they put a stranglehold

defensively against the caps. >> the bottom of the basement, that's really, really deep >> joe: simeon varlamov bailed out out early >> craig: you nailed t that first save on the bouncing puck could have righted the ship for varly. they had some quality chances. they were throwing the puck all night long. he was out, he was up, he was challenging, you a things you can see. >> it's pad play by ian white. greeny with eyes on the side of his head, there is the ovechkin. he has an open net and he burries it. >> it can't that be easy to cradle the puck like that. >> reporter: the leafs get a it of shots, 11 i. talk of a no

hitter, the fans weren't into it. five hits kind by all players on each team. faceoffs favor the power play. maple leafs had 0 success at air canada center. entertaining the great 8 and washington capitals. ovechkin all smiles, on top by 1. you know why i sell tools? tools are uncomplicated? nothing complicated about a pair of 10 inch hose clamp pliers. you know what's complicated? shipping. shipping's complicated. not really. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service shipping is easy. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that's not complicated. come on. how about...a handshake. alright. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service.

a simpler way to ship.

some of the game's greats honored and recognized here. washington capitals crossed through the doors with a 1-0 advantage after 20 minutes. the big house in downtown toronto not happy just yet. network hockey, locker, sell, sell, sell >> craig: give us a call if you want to improve your game. go to our website, network hockey.com. we try to develop people and kids from 12 through 20. the full gamut of services. give us a call and even though i'm on the road for the 11 of

the next 14, honest, i will have joe b cell phone. make sure it's on the line >> joe: sunday, sunday, sunday, sell, sell, sell. how about the acella express >> craig: for the good, the bad and the ugly. here is white with the deke. he gets it whips it up the middle. that's trouble because the caps are one of the best regrouping teams in the circle. now the caps go to d to d hold it here. the caps like to use strong side play. he is looking for this. watch brooks laich curl, that's called curling and supporting. here comes backstrom. look at this. laich who started the lie is in a bad position. here comes brooksy and watch the boys join the attack. primeau does not know where to go. and look over here.

the great 8. watch what happens. hold it here. there is that pass joe b was talking b how about that? look at the goaly looking there and own ovi e how are you going to stop this, anyways. i don't care who you are in the nhl. you're not going to stop that. acella express >> joe: an example of green supporting the rush, not leading it. so much more effective when he does that. period 2 coming soon.

pothole:h no...your tire's all flat and junk. oh, did i do that? here, let me get my cellular out - call ya a wrecker. ...oh shoot...i got no phone ...cuz i'm a pothole...so....k, bye! anncr: accidents are bad. anncr: but geico's good. with emergency road service. ding!

>> joe: caps hockey brought to you by your chevy chase nissan and by american service center andmercedes benz of alexandria. mercedes, just mercedes. >> reporter: this a gorgeous city, one of our favorite.

ovechkin walked into the air canada center. 10,000 people were there. ovechkin took his option and did not go on the ice. fans were not happy >> craig: i bet you they were louder than the crowd here in the first period, all 19,000- plus. >> joe: they beat toronto 6-4. laich had a goal.

>> joe: the other defenseman really shades towards alex ovechkin, why not have backstrom shoot, rather than 8. that's a wise move. backstrom has not scored on the road this season. grabovski, fires, and he misses. he is the leading goal getter from the league >> joe: here we go. backstrom fires. brooks laich and over top of the cage. these are the guys that are going to get up and go this period, apparently. gap ski gets one in the -- grabovski gets one in the chest. varlamov covers >> craig: this sequence starredded with varlamov not getting the puck behind the net. that led to chance after chance. alex ovechkin and backstrom, notice the far d taking away the pass. that was ian white, allowing

the goal tender to be square. grabovski hard shop, good opportunity. the puck trickled through but that's denied >> joe: you saw the 21-year-old in net last night. grab ski has the goaly stick of 21-year-old simeon varlamov. he will turn 22 in april. in tight corner hes, tomas fleischer. the net is knockd from its mooring. we hear the whistle >> craig: that's called the center line drive by brendan. we talked about the type of season he has. he can wheel and playing with morrissonn, you have to keep up. that's what he does. look at the puck go wide. look at morrissonn. well executed attack by the caps youngster along with the veteran morrissonn who is the pivot on that line. >> brendon morrissonn's total this year have been very good.

sloan whistles one wide of toskala. mitchell has some skating room right now. he lets it go. that's a good save. varlamov showing it there. bad defense by the caps. if you noticed on that play who was the guy trying to skate backwards? that was eric fehr trying to play mitchell one on one but the d got caught in the neutral zone. fehr was the support guy and he just about got burned. he did an excellent job keeping johnny mitchell. he is the only d. someone help him out. they got caught in the neutral zone. the first two minute in the period what been more exciting than the first two periods overall >> craig: that's probably the coaches giving alecture in after the first period.

ron wilson wants his team to be more assertive. you watch the break out begin. the long lead for clark. he bumps it off to perreault. matthew perreault spins. looking for help at the point, green's wrister turns aside. jamal mayers has a shooting chance. mike green had a goal against toronto. it was his first goal in the nhl and he scored against a future hall of fame e eddy belfour >> craig: he has to continue to shoot >> joe: trying to pad the lead for simeon varlamov who is in winning ways >> craig: look at that. an burke, all good names that the young net minder is right up there with with starting their career. >> joe: washington wins the neutral zone faceoff.

hammered in by jeff schultz. along the lip of the board, david steckel drops it off, bradley, beaten there by toskala. schultz did not keep this one n the capitals will have to rewind. green dog the honor, working in back with jeff schultz. his partner, shaone morrissonn continues to be out of the line- up with that head injury. that's a topic we have addressed throughout the first period, the amount of injuries mounting for the washington capitals, typically on the back end. tom poti, the latest to join that list. kaberle on for stajan, steered it down the wing to kessel. he fires and varlamov squeezes the pad and he'll cover. >> craig: johnny erskin making sure can goes right into him so they can a faceoff here. everything has been hitting varly here. he had 10 shots on net which

was his career high. you have to give him a big cushion with all that speed defensively? >> you have to give him a cushion. it always has to be inside. if he gets inside of you, then you are in trouble. >> reporter: white fires right to the belly of varlamov. so, locker, is it, in a way, like a corner back defends p fendsing a really fast whiteout? >> craig: exactly. perfect analogy, joe, perfect >> joe: varlamov ready for this next draw. we take the vantage point of our hooters faceoff look. maple leafs win that draw. white with a pass that was right on target for stajan that didn't click from there. i thai. was two clean wins for the maple leafs. caps have to center in their own zone. moving toward the four-minute mark of a still scoreless second period. washington's own tally provided by it goal scorer, ovechkin. great save, toskala. he robbed brooks laich

>> craig: i don't think that brooksy caught all of that. he would like to gate one. he got jammed a little bit. he has the same shot at alex ovechkin did on the goal there is a the bouncing biscuit there you can see it tumble toward the net. the tumble allows the goal tender to utilize his quickness to get across to stop brooksy. laich had a goal an assist in that home opening. at toskala's expense. we saw john carlson ring the iron last night against kerry bright. is oh, so close to his first nhl goal. hagman did not the clear it out. gap ski, in, jammed out of the way by varlamov working the cycle, tied up by brendan

morrison. the good pivot to the slot, went all the way through to 63 red. that's andrew gordon, just up from the american league. is he onside? no, that's why he didn't play it. he and tomas fleischer were ahead. an uncontested clear by francois beauchemin. stempniak around fehr. fehr with a well placed snapshot an evening going giving washington the lead against montreal that they eventually squanderred. kulemin didn't handling that very well. stempniak with the puck, white fires way i'd. kaberle to operate. knocked out the air by green. mitchell, the skate, great stop there from varlamov, robbing

kulemin >> craig: that was a great stop there the caps a little careless with the puck at exiting the zone. fehr does not have a stick. they have a long way to go this period back to the bench. mitchell a long way. varlamov is sharp >> craig: that was kiewl by kulemin. that was a nice curling drag getting into that center position. when you curl and drag, you are trying to get a better angle to the net. look at this pass. look at this curl, that opens up a better shot to sit the top corners. prior to, that here is a kulemin shot along the ice. caps a little careless here in the second in their own zone >> joe: varlamov with 20 stops and we are not yet 26 minutes old. poirngsponikarovsky putting some heat on sloan. now green will turn. backstrom on the delay.

green will try the other flank. good movement there wing to wing for ovechkin but off side against washington. caps have the advantage. there is the goal scorer. ovechkin on the road on top by 12.

welcome home, man. this is the nhl on comcast sportsnet. washington a 1-0 leader north of the board another toronto thanks to alex ovechkin.

trying for win number 101 for bruise boudreau who climbed to 100 pretty quickly >> craig: pretty nice list there. notice the guys who have won the couples there, joe. good company, johnson, keenan, crisp, crawford, all top guys behind the bench. good company >> joe: we invite you to join us on line csnwashington.com. our online host is matt lay ton. good shod here from kessel deflected over the top. the blog is called simply sensational. operation iraqui freedom kin with a wrister turned aside. matt, if you can call me, we need to exchange dimensions here >> craig: i thought that was all yours. >> reporter: what happened there? ovechkin hit the trailer which was erskin but he had to stop quickly >> craig: are you allowed to blog north of the boarder?

>> joe: i have to. thank you for reminding me. thank you for that >> craig: always good stopping joe b. some inside stuff about what went on here in toronto >> joe: as long as you tell me what to write. bradley on the mu, 3 on 2, fired, stopped by go nar son. another swede on the back end for ron wilson. beagle and steckel, beagle looking for his first nhl marker and toskala said no. this is stajan, blake, cut off by green. to a kneeling simeon varlamov. mike green topped by grabovski. blake pinned to the board for a moment by bradley. we continue 5 on 5. drop toe outshooting washington 21-14. loose in the high slot, grabovski got it. kaberle, wrister. didn't get it out.

grabovski with steckel, hagman. he won't mind mixing it up. hagman looks to stop. varlamov continues to be a stalwart in goal tonight >> craig: caps are in trouble. they have to ice the puck and why not? it's too long to go to long. it started with -- >> joe: toronto was off last night. washington was working. right now, varlamov, the main reason why washington has a 1-0 lead. hagman trying to change that. varlamov, pent like a pretzel at the post. finger, wrister >> craig: there is going to be a goal or a faceoff coming up here. the caps have to just ice the puck. they need a breather >> joe: or they'll take a penalty >> craig: you nailed it >> joe: or get knocked down by chute, shiewls encouraged to clear it out. he booms it off the board, right on goal, no icing >> joe: it actually worked out

fine because you can't change on the icing, anyway. bruce boudreau able to get his fire as breather. still 1-0 for d.c. wearing the red on the road. toronto in it alternate sweaters. a home white effect. step yak closing in. maple leafs turned up the shots on goal volume. fleischer,still got the shot away. tyler sloan stumble, didn't collect with brendan morrison. step yak to mitchell, fires off a skate. sloan didn't get it out. gunnarsson on the shoulder of varlamov. fleischer will reverse. 19-year-olds aren't tired, right? keep going, keep skating all night >> craig: sure, they can. the caps need to revamp here this period >> joe: i'll say.

has not started very well, has not continued very well. beauchemin with a shooting lane, padlocked by brooks laich and as laich was flying the coupe, he was head for that long break away pass that never materialized. >> joe: sometimes, it goes. ape legs ovechkin marked by beauchemin. ian white will play on the head mapp for stajan and he is content to chisel this one below the line. sloan, kessel there for toronto, blocked by backstrom, kessel throwing the stiff arm. stajan, beauchemin fires wide of varlamov who is screened heavily. ovechkin calming things down, using the wall to get it to back tomorrow, now full blast, he blasts it wide. alex ovechkin in the front. laich, on top, to pothier, waiting for the screen to develop. backstrom, inside for ovechkin,

jammed him with that pass and kessel goes the other way. this is four on three. on a grabovski on the delay. back side for beauchemin. we are more than halfway through regulation. it's getting wild and crazy here. ( "love hurts" by nazareth playing ) ♪ love hurts ♪ love scars ♪ love wounds...

- announcer: before you ever love it... - ( tires screech ) ...the nissan altima goes through over 5,000 tests. no wonder j.d. power and associates... - ♪ ooh, love hurts - ...ranked it highest in initial quality. the new nissan altima. quality you can love. ♪ ooh, love hurts. . >> reporter: capitals always love playing in canada. they have a 1-0 lead. in this legal seafood break, we

asked mike green what it means to him to play in his home country. >> it's special, especially to play here hockey night in canada and in toronto, it's what every kid's dream is. you know, we don't get to do it as often as we'd like to, but the i think that's why it makes it more special for this hockey team. not only that, you know, i'm sure that everybody is watching back home. hope it will be a good performance tonight >> joe: that, they are, mike. perreault storms the crease. s toskala has to go to the crease. pothier has it on the offensive zone for washington. perreault and that caroms off the defender. everybody was asking mike green about team canada, how much it would mean to him if he could make that olympic squad.

blake motorring in. blake still with it. motion, fires, blocked. good read by eric fehr, doing his best quintin laing impression. laing on the shelf with that broken jaw. one thing we know about quintin laing in washington. you know he will be there >> joe: as soon as he can be fitted for the aquarium, he will be in it as long as it's not too threatenning to him. greene, nice passing for steckel. beagle trying to deke to the back hand. the capital are going to a power play now >> craig: all because of a change by the beagle. good play by beagle. >> getting a step, joe, looking

leak a greyhound >> joe: oh, oh, oh. and schenn goes on the nice >> joe: 15 yards un-annual lift- like conduct >> craig: here he is, getting the position, schenn has to grab him with the left arm, good speed by beagle >> joe: looking like a greyhound. >> craig: you can buy it off me >> joe: yeah, sure. >> joe: power play packaged by the ups store. brooks laich now firmly ensconced in front of the net in that mike knuble spot. ovechkin, one timer, right to the bread basket to ian white. that has to sting.

stempniak, shorthanded opportunity, stajan guns it white >> craig: that was a little laidy there at the blue line i fleischer the other way >> joe: pass picked up by laich and gunnarsson gets it out, gets help from mitchell, 2 on 2. step yak looking for a missile, blocked away by fleischer >> craig: nicely done by fle sich on the back check. hits the break, ovechkin, wrister high on toskala who barely flinched. ovechkin gets it back. alex ovechkin has the lone goal in this hockey game, trying to make it 2-0 on the power play, for another 48 seconds. backstrom, the stop. the stop by toskala and no rebound >> craig: he was stopped in front of the net. good job defensively by jeff finger making sure he took the body. good opportunity down low. that's a set play where you go from the half wall and brooks walked out on his forehand.

brooksy close to double digits in goals, 11 of his 21 point have been scored in the third stance >> joe: now third best in terms of total points on this washington team, brendan morrison back on the ice taking the faceoff against warren primeau. he seems to have been rejuvenated >> craig: no, ma'am encumberred by the brace he has been wearing. i think physical therapy, you a the training he did, the system fits perfectly in washing tonight one of the reasons, he elected to sign with the caps. he has been better than expected. he has been all over the place, a q b on the back line on the power play and he has that secondary scoring to that line that desperately needs it. he had the last goal last night that turns out to be a 3-2 loss

to montreal. he brendon morrison had not missed game in many seasons until all the injuries started could many craig ostertag up >> joe: sharp angle, stopped by toskala. toskala and varlamov have been the stars in the spotlight. both have been very good. jamal mayers, drifting wide. to varlamov and he will squeeze. 1-0 washington. the only goal provided by varm's country man, alex ovechkin has d.c. in front.

>> joe: bruce boudreau, caps coach, former maple leafs player >> craig: he had some great times here. he hacks this one home. trying to beat, it looks like bill height here of the buffalo sabres and he denies him, a good chance going to the net. boudreau wearing that wind well helmet that a lot of old boys used to play. 134 games here for gaby >> joe: bill hagt >> craig: i can tell by his skates and how tall he was. he was 6'5" and about 160-pound >> joe: i walked back from air canada with gaby.

i said, i bought the book. he said, have you read it yet? no, just the foreword and the thanks and all. but i'm looking forward to it. vacuumed up by toskala >> craig: i told him the other day, i'm waiting for to you read it so i don't have to buy it >> joe: i'll loan it to you >> craig: he wasn't too happy about that >> joe: money well spent >> craig: is that his good luck food here. >> reporter: it is. >> craig: you lose one game and all of a sudden, you bring out your lucky star >> joe: tank willing with 3-11- of and bin leading by only the slimmest margin, 1-0. phil kessel has had number ruse opportunities to score himself. he coughed it there. pothier joins the rush. bradley leaves it along the wall for beagle guarded by jeff

finger. if i'm not mistaken, he has something in common with your son, played echl in redding >> craig: really? >> joe: yes. stajan on the drop. defended by ovechkin >> craig: did not know that. that's a good little nugget. >> reporter: the wedding royals >> craig: yes >> joe: ovechkin grabs this one out of the grab of white. carlson plays the end wall. beauchemin is there. francois beauchemin helped anaheim during the cup run in 2007 >> craig: i hate to say that, but -- larry courriveau, a heck of a job. kyle looking for the opportunity up with the redding royal >> joe: toskala makes the stop. washington in toronto tonight. more cadillac has the road ahead >> craig: take a look at the games upcoming. three of the next five away.

notice the start 7:30 right here on csn. buffalo right before thanksgiving, at montreal, at carolina and then the panthers who are playing much better lately come to town >> joe: john carlson with the wrister answerred by mikhail grabovski. map will leafs with the white sweater. on saturday, they tend to wear that at nat looks, asked the capitals to bring their reds. long blast carlson and he just missed it as toskala was screened. blake, trickles it only as far as the washington line. john carlson, deflected. ape drew gordon checking the rearview mirror. picks up tomas fleischmann, fleischmann ran into some trouble. sloan gets it away from blake. mikhal grabovski for blake, moves n fires, ricochet at the

doorstep. they score. and the caps got caught on that play. there's been a lot of jail break in this period by the toronto maple leafs and the fans are going crazy here at air canada center. that was a good drive. it was actually a 4 on 3. notice the two caps not getting back in time and this is a lucky bounce. this may be reviewed. hagman caught his arm and hand possibly as it goes past varly. blake did not touch it before it went in. hagman may get credit but it may go to review before it's credited with his goal. they tied it up here in toronto. boudreau really calling over the referee. he wants it to look up. he says go check it, i think. >> joe: bruce boudreau fired up behind the bench. time of the tally, should it stand would be 16:49. >> craig: i think he was trying to buy time so maybe they would go to review. that's why perltd took his time

over there >> joe: they don't have to go far to review it. the video review room it in this building. but the puck has been dropped. they must have been satisfied that magic puck bouncing in off hagman who, for so long, had gone through a drought against washington. it is now a tie. hagman playing in florida, now with the maple leafs. >> craig: that's a great goal for a player when you don't even use your stick and get one >> joe: now from no angle, pokes out the other side, good save there, toskala at a critical juncture. the caps try to score on this next shift >> craig: how great is perreault here. here is the goal. grabovski who has been a

growing concern, the shot by blake deflected off sloan goes right off an unsuspecting hagman. he did push forward with that right arm. i'm surprised this department go to review >> joe: do you think he punched at it? >> craig: he punched it. you said shoald year. >> reporter: although that could be going in his skating stride. 2:18 separating us from the net star one intermission live. stajan looking for his winger phil kessel. gunnarsson keeps it in the points position. 5 on 5. kessel as he is wants to do, guarding the corner. ovechkin comes to the puck's retriever. schultz wrinkles it on out but not clear. white, turn over, ovechkin, nearly a break away. laich almost struck him.

brooks laich tield up by gunnarsson. ovechkin did not have any running ram. kessel does as he breathes it back. he broke his hockey stick in half. 90 seconds to go in the second period. hagman has answered ovechkin. it's 1-1. brat lee going the other way. bradley fires. that's knocked aside by luke schenn. schenn gets a handle on it. volleyball by pothier. didn't get it deep. hagman on the drop. grabovski, bag for hagman, a save there by varlamov. long wrister knocked down in front. no high stick. caps with one minute to operate in period 2. joe b and craig laughlin here with you. david tech el steckel.

gets it bat. matt bradley to the front. ' blake and the acceleration down the wing. the towering jeff schultz gets his-- in his skating lane as green drills away from pressure. 252 seconds to go in the period. gunnarsson. ahead to kulemin. occupied by both green and fehr. offside against toronto. thompson creek window of opportunity, a near miss for the maple leafs. again, en odd man break, slap shot that makes it through a pass. this is a window of opportunity every night, every game here on csn >> joe: varlamov made 27 saves in his first appearance of the season against the maple leafs. he has 27 right now. the puck leaves the rink. >> craig: his number is just

brilliant to start the career. 27 saves, lots of work for varlamov. it started out well and continued well. none of the shots beat him. it is a lucky bounce off the body. special feature by varlamov's goaly coach with net star one intermission live >> craig: artus irbe. i used to call him, when he used to play, the little lattian >> joe: goes all the way pack to san jose. we are now done with 2. alex ovechkin got on the board in the first. hagman with a very fortunate bounce here in period 2 and these two squads will have 20 minutes left and programs more to settle this one. net star 1 intermission live. the net minding coach, artus irbe into focus. highlights and stats and locker at the telly once more. really good goal tending.

varlamov and toskala at their varlamov and toskala at their best. you know what's complicated? shipping. shipping's complicated. not really. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service shipping is easy. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that's not complicated. come on. how about...a handshake. alright. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship.

. >> reporter: the maple leafs have the fewest point notice nhl but they have one big point

that matters tonight. we are 1-1 after 1. hagman getting a fortunate bounce past simeon varlamov whose former coach is a former h h ler named artus irbe. thanks to the nhl, we learn more about the coach and his playing days >> joe: 1991 was a memorial year for artus irbe. his home ounce tri of latta country of latvia received independence from russia. he came to north america with a brilliant pet degree. >> joe saku and his way. he will fake and he can't it by irbe and the gold medal is won by the soviet union >> joe: he was a star in the soviet elite league but the nhl posed its own set of challenges. at only 5'8", he played much larger. >> if you think this guy can't

get both legs to cover both post, look at this. that hurts to watch. he is amphibious, too, right and left foot >> joe: he was en dering himself to the sharks fan base. when asked how to describe his play, he replied, like wall. he played 74 games and set what was then a league record for minutes played by a goaly. in their first playoff appearance, he led san jose to within a game of the western conference final helping to lay the foundation for a bright future for the young franchise. >> joe: artus, irbe, the guy he coaches now can do the slit >> craig: we saw a ton of him in north carolina with the canes. always had those big white pads. that was the trademark and his quickness post to post. >> reporter: the thought process was all the white leg

pads blending in with the meshing of the net. >> craig: trickery. >> reporter: if you are not cheating, you are not tricking, you are not trying. i think we have highlights coming up on the other side of the break.

oh! blue! time! time out. i touched it. i touched the ball before it went out, coach. come on, alex, the ref did not call that! you gotta be kidding me, alex! it's the championship game! talk to him, coach. i touched, it's their ball. don't foul them when they inbound. team on 'three.' one, two, three. nice going, alex.

sorry coach. alex! good call. >> joe: i say one word, you respond >> craig: big, strong, powerful >> joe: petithory >> craig: uncany able to make great pass. >> reporter: andrew gordon >> craig: great second game in the nhl, utilizes speed >> joe: i say good bye highlight. off we go. more from simeon varlamov >> craig: simeon has been

terrific in this game. it started right from the first period. maple leafs are a team that averaged over 33 shots on net in home games and i mean varly has to be sharp and has good rebound controls which we always harp on. a lot of puck are hitting him because he is in good position. >> reporter: cry thought he -- i thought he performed admirablely. this bounce beats him >> craig: this gets through. that's the only goal that beat him. i thought it would have went to review. >> reporter: hagman should be smiling. his goal aided from grab ski >> craig: caps are giving up way too much shots. scoring chance, 7 for the caps on the road, not enough, faceoff just about enough. >> reporter: jew heard me say this morning. i was fearful about this game.

there are still just 20 minutes to go in regulation. the caps and maple leafs are 1- 1, north of the border in toronto. t me. t me. [chattering] are your parents home later? we can hang. l.u.v.--love you. jk. holla back. holla back. holla back. are you with your friends? that's lame. we're in a huge fight right now. x.o. what'd you dream about? me? [overlapping] is it something i did? are you on your way to the mall? i'm lonely. nude pics. send me some. [beep] text me.

all those hall of famers, yes, the maple leafs did it. one reason i love coming back to toronto. number 1, these times of clips and my mom's tartar sauce. those are the two things, actually getting lucky right. i was so goods here. i had to change numbers >> joe: you blew away tom barasso there e i changed all the way around >> joe: there is the pump, give it to him >> craig: yeah, that's the celebration. that's the best part of the show >> joe: who needs to jump into the glass when you can do that. 1-1 after 40 minutes of play. i think you have more

>> craig: at least mine are in color unlike boudreau >> joe: let's take a look at the power play set-up. we talked about set plays in that period, joe. here, we're going to see one. the puck's in the corner here. number 1, you need good aggressive puck control. you have to get there ahead of the leafs. bad clear. look at that, nice back side pressure by clark. now, the power play is starting to set up. hold it here. notice the two d up here, two d down there leafs in a box formation. that's why the caps are able to move it at the top of the blue line. goes to ovechkin. ovechkin gets it. pressure, down low to backstrom. now we have it nicely. hold it right here. now what they are trying to dorks look at this. is that -- does that get any prettier, joe, triangulation down low. they are trying it. hold it hearings hold it here. now what happens, a right-left shot able to step out because he is down low. brooks laich, a dandy on the

doorstep. acella express, joe, another one. enjoy the journey >> joe: can you say butter tarts on the air >> craig: my favorite things. >> reporter: they sound yummy >> craig: that's all giewey and has to be runny. has to be runny. runny butter tarts >> joe: on comcast sportsnet. boss: ah! thank goodness you're back.

gecko: what's going on, sir? boss: we're slammed. tons of people interested in all the money they could be saving by switching to geico... gecko: yeah, 'course. boss: boy, did we miss you last week. that temp wasn't working out at all. exec: took me all morning but i got those quarterly figures for ... you. (hissing noise, gulping) gecko: aw, he ate all my mints. anncr: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

>> joe: this comcast sport net coverage of hockey brought to you by toyota, where quality, dependability and good mpg come standard. visit or buy toyota.com. toyota, moving forward. by your washington area chevy dealers, 100,000 mile power train warranties on chevy first.com. temperatures aren't so bad so this time in november in toronto. caps and maple leafs who split everything down the middle last year. they split four fames overall, split in d.c. and split here and they are 1-1 after 40 tonight.

folks, tune in for geico sports night at 11. dallas week, jim zorn getting ready for the game in big d. the best redskins coverage around tonight at 11 on geico sportsnite. >> reporter: the redskins get to see the cowboys' new playpen t is quite a stadium. caps making their way back to the playing surface. there is alex ovechkin. he is the subject of the ovech cam. >> a ton ice for again ovechkin, over 15 minutes. here he is, walking into the a.c.c. right about 4:15 getting ready for this hockey game. guys arrive early to get you prepared. there is the smelling salt. i used to love that stuff >> joe: no >> craig: you know, i would be

on the bench and when they called, it i had to be ready. you knew it was going to half after being held off the board last night, here it is. nice shot. closing in on the league lead. the goal scorer heatley who has 17. >> reporter: that little nugget about the smelling salts tells me something a little bit more about you in the way you turned out. now, i understand. well, okay. >> craig: i need some up here the odd night when i listen to you a lot. >> reporter: etch kin -- >> craig: you are not even listening to me >> joe: no, i'm linking >> craig: its there another period? >> joe: you need some to work with me. i can multi-task. i this is what i do. sort of. >> reporter: we'll be with you again on monday when the caps meet the ottawa senators for

the first time. ponikarovsky, don't expect to see alexei kovalev in that game >> craig: had he to go back home. his mother or dpraint mother passed away, right? >> joe: stajan will send it in. ron wilson matching wits with bruce boudreau in the coaching match-up tonight. 1-1 affair. ovechkin on the boards for washington. hagman has the marker for toronto. cap as it on the road in red. rarity. blake turns the corn e watch out. he almost got there for the stuff >> craig: he was watching. lake is tremendously fast. i think he had a step. lucky that he had erskin to help out varly. >> reporter: that combination of blake and grabovski can really wheel. just offsite >> craig: what brought that offside is brendan morrison going from back hand to right

hand. >> joe: did you think tomas deferred too much to alex ovechkin when he was on the line with him >> craig: i think he d that's common with a lot of players when you play with a star player, you change your game. you any, i have to set him up. i have to set that guy up because he is the great goal scorer. he has to be a little more selfish. you have to learn that as a player. take the shot whit' there. you can't be looking to be cutey. >> reporter: not easy to be the other winger on theline with the likes of backstrom and ovechkin. varlamov will hold for the draw >> craig: good catching glove save there. johnny mitchell trying to get the puck free, had 12 goals last year. here is that zigzag entering the zone, getting the step. notice where the shot is coming from. that's routine around the nhl and that's good defense by the caps keeping the leafs to the

outside >> joe: mitchell, kulemin and stempniak and white for toronto. ian white -- beauchemin through the screen. varlamov trying to make himself as big as possible. he never moved. alex ovechkin strides through center. ovechkin on the curling drag move lost the handle. mitchell examining going the other way. john mitchell rubbed along the board by carlson. fire, that hit traffic. kulemin on top to white. borchardt minimal, clark, around for carlson, he is in a foot race with white, one d to the other >> craig: the leafs' mantra, wilson was preaching attention to details. they had good defense in this hockey game against the leafs.

>> reporter: primeau kept it in the offensive territory. orr leaves it below the goal line. capitals pind in here. jamal mayers to primeau, re pelled by perreault >> craig: caps spent way too much time in this hockey game in their own zone. they had poor breakout and because of that, the leafs are looking like they are in control. the caps have to get the puck out and utilize their speed swroo. >> swroo >> joe: doing a nice job of ute lying their speed there. and finally, steckel will get out and bruce boudreau is begging for a line change. as you look down on gunnarsson, leaving the toronto zone, kessel can hit top speed very quickly. snapshot deflected aside.

caps have seen the guys do that. marion gaborik can be owe explosive >> craig: he can also burn you with that change of speed. beagle >> joe: looking for help, turned away by kessel. stajan there to support. rink wide to kaberle, approaching the 4-minute mark. kaberle wrister, jumps wide of varlamov. beauchemin to grabovski. kaberle kept it to the outside by green. beauchemin cheating in. ponikarovsky, the centerring pass, stajan on the doorstep could not find it and alex ovechkin will use mike green's help to get it to center. kessel on the relaunch. not going far. he is collared there by laich. schultz arm in arm with blake.

a fair of 55. blake. stopping and starting on backstrom. jason blake with it. content to leave it along the wood work for grabovski. ian white surveys the circulation. beauchemin kept it to the outside. hagman is on his way to the box. going to be a hooking call. >> craig: and that's the right call there with all the pressure the caps will go to the power play, joe. >> joe: here is a cool event up coming. don't miss the caps' fair casino night at the hilton alexandria marks center. enjoy a night out mingling and gaming with caps players and coaches, all in the name of charity. tickets on sale this monday, 10:00 a.m. washington caps.com. with hagman, the goal scorer for toronto, in the sin bin,

that's a great opportunity for the caps to go i a head on the power play. >> craig: morrison moves back to the point even though he is coming in for the faceoff which would put ovie on the half wall on this first wave against the leafs. >> reporter: mike green, 31 goals last year, 18 of them on the power play. and the in the alleyway for ovechkin. that pass gas arye. brendan morrison is there for ovechkin, to the front, stopped by toskala. primeau will send washington packing >> craig: that's what they needed. wasn't delivering early on notice sea son, still look looking for his first victory of the season, that was a beauty. well done by the caps' power play breaking down the penalty killer >> joe: backstrom, morrison to green, vague away, more antiochison, green gets it again, does not unload yet.

nice look by backstrom who got spun around. niklas backstrom to tomas fleischmann. they over load this side. toskala flashes the pads. leafs don't get it out. morrison, wind, fires, deflected to the glass. toskala was heavily screened. ovechkin, one-timer, stick save and beauchemin scales it out >> craig: if the penalty kill is working, your goal tender is your best penalty killer and that was the case against this caps power play >> joe: 30 more seconds to operate with the man advantage. matthew perreault out there with brooks laich. ian white interresults for tron toa. pothier, six points in his last seven games. to have had by toskala, jammed high. ian white occupied by 2. pot questioner with a good keep. pothier with a good keep.

along the board to laich, setles, fwlof save b toskala and no rebound >> craig: that's what they were waiting for. great breakdown of the penalty killers. here is the isolation. wide to the net, wide open, white took the man on the far post. alex ovechkin, a semi-break away, denied by the goal tender toskala >> joe: ovechkin and the capitals knew they would be in for a battle. bruise boudreau says that the -- bruce boudreau said that the toronto team competes. they hit hard. ovechkin struck first, hagman answered in the second. 13:13 to go in regulation. beagles with a run run there.

and hagman explodes from center. niklas hagman with a wrister, surrounded by varlamov as he has some company in the crease. it's all jason blake knocking big stumble nichol over his goal tender. i don't think anything will transpire here. no penalty will be called >> joe: maple leafs have lost five straight but you would not know it by this one. they are giving the top raged caps a tough go.

. >> reporter: dodge game

summary. goalies trying to outdo each other. >> craig: they have been dominating this hockey game. alex ovechkin knocks his 15th goal of the season, one behind danny heatley for the nhl league. they need another one for the third for the caps and ovie to skate with the win. the top guy is varlamov as he gets set to. 13 to play in this third period, deadlocked at 1. kaberle, elusive along the blue line t is fun to watch him work >> craig: you have to so poise and he has a high threshold, meaning he is able to move laterally and that ohms -- that opens up space to shoot and pass. grabovski is knocked down. toronto goes to the power play. kaberle uses a very short hockey stick >> craig: he does which makes him a better passer and it can handler but does not give him a

rocket of a shot. i might have called both guys on this play, grabovski and morrison. looks like grabovski embellished this. watch him take off. to me, that's a little bit of an embellishment there. he gets away with it. mccreary only sending number 9 to the box >> joe: ponikarovsky, cab -- cab kaberle and stempniak. ponikarovsky banged against the board by green. >> reporter: moving toward the 8 minute mark of period 3. kaberle, now stajan, hooking down the wing for ponikarovsky erased by pothier. erskin throwing his weight around. the capitals work tonight

without one of their premiere defending penalty killers, tom poti, joining the injured. ponikarovsky, feeding kessel, deflects off, and laich will send it out >> craig: a lot of guys are getting extra minute on the pk. you can't have enough guys like tom poti, his reach, his size, his mobility, all an asset when you are trying to kill a penalty in the nhl. >> reporter: fleischmann ?airs, tries to send it down the length. kaberle was not buying t blake in transition. his pass skins grabovski around. schultz, heave hoe and away you go >> craig: ron wilson after carolina said it was the power play that let us down. it was lackadaisical and had the carolina hurricanes back into the hockey game. we are seeing signs of that. this is crunch time. you have to have a better, more efficient power play if you're going to start winning games

anywhere, including home ice >> joe: part of the day, part of the game where special teams win the hockey games. gunnarsson serves, white fires, but varlamov was ready. along the board. toronto with eight seconds left in the power play. grabovski did not pull the trigger. mi kale grabovski. erskin. gunnarsson, as the caps return to full strength. blake, chopped at by pothier. jason blake, a former 40-goal getter. blake, angled away by bradley and finished off rather rudely. brooks laich storms through center. laich needing momentum. good move on gunnarsson but white chopped it off his blade. fires, miersed it on the short side, halfway through the third period now are we with the nhl, on comcast sportsnet. joe beninati.

snagged by toskala and he holds. >> real good pressure penalty killing by the washington capitals. tomorrows crass cab berth -- tomas kaberle is the guy who quarterbacks the power play. it's going to be a while. i going to tallable who was honored before the game and jim mckenny, most points by d men. he is a guy who had five goals >> joe: a lot of our younger hockey players only recognize tim horde ton for the coffee and donut. he was a heck of a hockey player >> craig: oh, yes. unfortunately he died in a car crash coming to a game. >> joe: eric fehr like a blood hound looking for that rebound. it belongs to toronto in the white sweaters. 9 didn't 28 to go regulation. 1-1. ovechkin for washington,

hagman for to. stempniak to a vacant slot. that will chase beauchemin back into his half. francois beauchemin, 21-year- old quebec native. of the long lead, stajan, ponikarovsky, 2 on 1, kessel, varlamov. >> craig: took a little too long for my liking to pull the trigger. kaberle and varlamov was pinned to the post. the rookie net minder has been terrific for washington tonight. shots on goal counter up to 33 for toronto >> craig: i think he wants to play in odd with a, doesn't he? >> reporter: that's a point in the season where he could sense the job could be there for the taking at perreault works, jose theodore pressed for duty. the month of november has not gone swimmingly for jose although there were stretches in october where he looked just fine >> craig: the last one could

hurt. they have to get back to his thing. he has to play back his hockey >> joe: i think he will. they push each other to play better. green serves it on the toronto side. gunnarsson touchs up, icing call. friends, you can win two round trip tickets ton acella press and tickets to the game. check out cs n washington, key worth acella for your chance to win. that's always fun there, isn't it? >> craig: a blast >> joe: noisy, nasty, orange and red. the orange got roughed up last night out west. san jose looked pretty good >> craig: it was all joe thornton and dan any heatley. heatley the hat trick. thorpe ton, the leading scorer, four assists. >> joe: bradley turning the

corner. hagman to the inside for grabovski angles by pothier. teams at full strong, 7 1/2 to go in the third. kaberle, no running room afforded him. capitals showing off their neutral zone strategy. plays the board to stempniak. beauchemin, long wrister knocked down in front. able to jam it back on the tron so side >> craig: the leafls had any finish whatsoever, they would be up on the caps in this hockey game >> joe: washington was in action last night. toronto was off. see which team has the fresher legs in the final 7 minutes t is pothier, delicately for backstrom. mike green talking about nick back tomorrow earlier in the

day saying he is the best center he ever played with >> craig: that's the legs and mental side of the game getting drained from the caps apneic backstrom, 23 points in 22 games, real good start, 82 assists last two seasons, third most in the national hockey league. >> reporter: bruce boudreau says of backstrom, nothing fazes him. he is unemotional. bruce boudreau talks to the troops. we are at 1 in this hockey game. let's do this more dan franklin pivotal play, both tallies >> craig: a beauty by ovechkin, it doesn't get prerrier than this. laich, green, ovie and no chance for toskala. the leafs score on the lucky side, right, joe? >> joe: extremely so. >> craig: lucky shot by blake,

off sloan, right arm and hand of hag mapp. that's where we are. we are under 7 to go >> joe: last night, washington's first eastern conference loss. they were-0 against the southeast and northeast until montreal beat them. another from the northeast squaring off with them tonight. it's 1-1 in toronto. ovechkin was almost behind the field. ponikarovsky for kessel. he wipes out. white could not clear on the first attempt >> craig: worked pretty well for him, though, didn't it? >> joe: didn't hurt him. this pass is off target. grabovski is going to get there. there was no icing on the play. five on five with 6 minutes to go. backstrom in a tussle there with hagman. grabovski with hagman. john carlson, steady as she

goes, in this second nhl game. but he is a good one at 19, 19 years old. my goodness >> craig: he was born with a hockey stick -- he doesn't have a hockey tick in his hand. get cut to the middle, bill, hold it like a hockey stick. he is holding it like a goaly. i like that i did he have in thely like that. on the run, beautiful curl move. gunnarsson, pad save varlamov. mitchell, passes is into the far corner, carlson toretrieve. ahead. >> craig: i think part of the leafs game trying to get the win against the caps is it send their defense and they have been all over crashing along the wall. it's going to be playing with the caps >> joe: beauchemin looking for stempniak.

washington turning up the volume with respect to hits in this third period. green dancing in. when they got the better of the rangers at madison square garden, they threw almost 40 hits >> craig: a lot of hit were generated on the penalty kill. they were very physical again the leafs power play. >> reporter: tends to awaken their game. erskin does not mind hitting. fehr was the guy receiving the hit from stajan. off the board for brendan morrison, connects the dot for clark. fleischmann. fleischmann protecting on his back hand. 4 minute to go in the third. thomas fleischmann waits, good patience, morrison stopped by tugs cla and the net minder gets the rebound. it's going to a good hockey game. we have seen a little bit of everything. 1-1 for the maples leafs and caps. something that you will rarely see again.

bill mccreary, the ref with the lock see stick. learn more at supportyourvet.org. in 1977, in johannesburg, south africa, an 8-year-old boy picked up the game of golf from his father. by the age of 9, he was already outplaying him. the odds of this gentle lad winning the junior world golf championships at the age of 14? 1 in 16 million. the odds of that same boy then making it to the u.s. and european pro-golf tours? 1 in 7 million. the odds of the "big easy" winning the open championship once

and the u.s. open championship twice? 1 in 780 million. the odds of this professional golfer having a child diagnosed with autism? 1 in 150. ernie els encourages you to learn the signs of autism at autismspeaks.org. early diagnosis can make a lifetime of difference. >> joe: timberland pro stay on your feet, player of the game belongs to varlamov. >> craig: bouncing biscuits. leafs are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at number 40's way. he has been incredible. a great game for varly on the road here tonight >> joe: the timberland pro endurance booed has ain'ty fatigue technology, helping you stay on your fetal day long.

varlamov, whether he has been standing up or in that butterfly spread has authorred 33 saves along the way to what he homes will be another victory. he leads nhl rookies in terms of wins. we are far from being settled tonight in toronto. 3 1/2 to go in a 1-1 game. joe and craig upstairs thanking all the men and women in our technical crew for their effort. it's the nhl on comcast sportsnet. caps in a stretch here where they are playing three straight against canadian-based team. montreal last night. toronto. and tonight. ottawa isn't fors have been playing extra tough, especially on their home ice. >> joe: both teams want to stay out of the penalty box now. long what is from gunnarsson deflect thed wide. grabovski, gunnarsson using his reach to keep it n blake

bounced down by erskin. backstrom floats it aloft for green. green backed up by hagman. maple leafs on the rewind. deep for ron wilson can change. ron wilson says, heck -- fehr drills one off the bar. >> craig: that one high heat on the snapshot through a screen. toskala did not pick it up until he heard the chang behind him. kulemin rumbles in, fires, that's gloved by varlamov. we need to step away. exciting conclusion shaping up in toronto. washington and toronto tied up at 1 apiece.

he was hoping, that didn't chang into the meshing that baby was dead on for eric fehr. david steckel wins the draw but it's through a missed draw.

steckel against mitch hell. capitals will get possession. bradley coasting back through center. rink wide for steckel. kulemin was with him, goal line to goal line. lee stempniak for toronto out there to mitchell, schultz pounds him in the corner. 1:55 to go in the third. green, long, lengthy pass, brad lee, one more, steckel. that was secured by gunnarsson. kaberle along the board but not out just yet. stempniak trying to catch pothier in transition. he does not give varlamov any trouble. 34-27 toronto leads in the shots department. the two-goal lead were the spotlight tonight. fleischmann, blocked away.

pothier. brian pothier sharp angle, off the post, rebound loose. and it it dribbles out the back side, wide. caps almost over played that. brendon morrison, his pass blocked, kessel has great speed. he has the puck, no shooting angle now as erskin comes over to contain him. final minute of regulation. ponikarovsky for beauchemin, angled away by varlamov. pothier looking ahead. pothier change of pace, didn't get it deep. offovechkin will. coming off the bench, the leafs didn't see it in the vicinity of center ice. 23 seconds to go in the third. 5 on 5 action continues.

kaberle down the dasher to blake. blake for grabovski. that was smotherred by schultz, grabovski turns the corn e stopped by varlamov and got the shoulder on kaberle, five seconds to go, hagman, ovechkin, we will go to o t in t-o. well played game over all because the goal tender, as you mentioned, joe, stole the show. chances at both ends starting with the caps that could have ended this game before we go to o t and a possible shootout. alex ovechkin and company could not get the secondpast toskala. look at morrison in front. he is hanging out. look at that sharp angle shot there is the shot that you said he overplayed and he did. morrison was right on the doorstep, joe. >> joe: then at the other end, kaberle trying to go cap attorneyer, short side and varlamov so cat quick from post

to post and getting back up in time to turn that one away, plenty of time left in regulation. simeon varlamov has been dazzling at times tonight. he is our tom restaurant caps player of the game. >> craig: you can use a jumbo steak after all the pounds he would have lost here in toronto. congrats to varly, great player of the game, 36 saves >> joe: just 1-1 through 60 minutes. we can look back and those two markers, first one coming compliments of alex ovechkin. i have no problem remembering all the goals, joe. green, ovechkin. leafs get a lucky one. right side of the screen, go to the net. hagman says, i'll take it. i love it. that's why we are going to overtime. >> reporter: that was not reviewed. it was a good goal all the way.

leafs just won of 2 of 17 times that they have allowed the first goal this season. tonight is the 18th. will they be victorious or will they fall? first goal wins mitchell on the draw. stempniak closing in. too much room for my liking. wasn't played very well by the caps. usually, 4 on 4, way too much. kaberle, wrister knocked down by green. brendan more son who has ten game winning overtime goals in his career. this is offside against brooks laich. he was wide open twice for breakaway cities here on 4 on 4. the caps forward, morrison didn't get it to him the first time which was the best opportunity. the caps and boudreau trying to stretch out the center lanes, trying to create that break away with one extra guy on the ice for each team.

>> joe: the officials now in conference >> craig: deciding where the play should stand because it was offside at the far blue line but it may be because where the pass initiated from is where the faceoff will start. >> joe: closest dot to t they ruled it's in the washington defensive half. here is the look from green >> craig: deflected and there is brooks laich going offside there. they were hoping it was down at that dot but it happened to be just outside their blue line >> joe: pothier will swing and set sail for backstrom. nice move through center, backstrom blocked away by ian white and front say beauchemin off the rink >> craig: he had a lot room there to see it up. everyone is worried about offy coming down the wing. nick backstrom lately not racking up the points like he did early on in the season. right up the gut, perfect box formation. middle is open. >> reporter: right off this

draw, toskala called upon to make the save. backstrom has never scored in his young career against toronto >> craig: that's usually money for ovie with the time he had off that faceoff. >> reporter: white hits the brakes. white bounces one off the defender. erskin flexing his muscles against stajan. phil kessel below the goal line. stajan pounded by pothier. right in front of referee mccreary and he says play on >> craig: the players have gone with five defendsers. we have not seen a lot of carlson. grabovski wide. he got knocked down. maple leafs standing up, i am lowering the refs for a power play. we are a minute into the extra session. heavy height by ponikarovsky. pothier, the pass was a good one. got away from gunnarsson >> craig: that was a real good

pass. ponikarovsky, grabovski in particular had a real good game. 84 has been all over the place >> joe: here he comes again. i side, the trailer, gunnarsson, walking in, stone walled by varlamov >> craig: a real nice play. we talk about the inside position here. that was a dandy by gunnarsson. >> joe: he drags it back, grabovski to the front, deflected away from ponikarovsky and now green will go the other way. mike green stretching his legs. green looking for help. mike green haraed in the corner. ponikarovsky still has enough gas in the tank to get it to center. er down at one end below the goal, wands to be back to thwart the opportunity. >> reporter: geez >> joe: he is such an exceptional skater >> craig: green out there for a long shift. he he can state with the best.

it's been said by mike green, the more ice time he gets, the faster he gets >> joe: how quickly can you hustle? >> craig: he get right back on ponikarovsky after turning the puck over and away he goes. good play by mike green >> joe: brooks laich and brendan morrison, the forwards for washington with just 2 minutes to go in overtime. morrison look likes he had a played blade problem for a moment. you see beauchemin, intended for blake. he has to be offside. there is the whistle. >> craig: and beauchemin just did no get that pass through or blade was wide open. when he gets a full head of steam, no one is going to score him. they hope he scores more for beauchemin and allows less goals against. he is a shut down guy who was a big part of the anaheim ducks' victory in the stanley cup.

>> reporter: blake has nod scored at home. toronto winning in terms of faceoff. 1-1 in over time with 1:40 to go. ovechkin, driving down, alex ovechkin, fans, then fires off the shoulders of toskala, retrieves his own rebound, snaps the pass. inside for ovechkin again, denied by white >> craig: he was trying to make a ps pass on that play by reel directing the puck to mike green who jumped up in the play >> joe: jeff schultz for mike green once more. 75 seconds left in period number 4. mitchell, kessel, mitchell again. backstrom keeps it to the outside. white, serves it for kessel. chased by schultz, phil kessel starting on the offside. off the skate for mitchell. white, straight away, beauchemin.

beauchemin, white lines it up and fires, deflected by ovechkin, at the goal mouth. beauchemin for white. white to mitchell. cross rink, too hot to handle. 35 seconds to go in o t. mike green latches on to it for washington, didn't get it out >> craig: the caps are real tired. >> joe: kessel, stopped by varlamov. rebound covered up >> craig: and three guys were caught way too late on that last shift. ovechkin was the only one of the four that could get off, schultz out for a long shift, green out for a long shift and nick out. over a minute shift. the caps need new troops on the ice, nice little dipsy doo by phil the thrill here in toronto >> joe: he can do that >> craig: oh, yeah. that's a nice move. >> reporter: stajan to take an important draw. david steckel in the top 3 in the league in that discipline,

helping washington win gun. wythe goes wide on gunnarsson. trapped in the corner, brooks laich. pothier leaves it below the goal line. final 10 seconds of o t. steckel on top to erskin. looking for the deflection of laich, went wide. 2 seconds now. you will hear the horn ending 635 minutes >> craig: this shootout may go forever the way that varly ands to cha have played. it will come to a breakaway contest to settle this one. as the blades get refreshed. >> when we return, it will be shootout time from canada center in toronto.

15 minute can save you 15 percent or more on car insurance. visit them at 1-800-97-geico. the luxury that's more than a lucksy. to learn more about the 2010 land rover vehicle, visits landroverussa.com. and my morgan frank lip, your partner for long lasting busines and technology solution. turned out to be a pretty exciting hockey game north of the border in toronto, ontario, canada. caps and maple leafs are through in sudden death overtime and it's 1-1 as we will be required to go to the shootout. toskala watching simeon varlamov. varlamov told us he hates the shootout but he will have to try to back stop his team to another win >> craig: he will have to stop kessel right off the get go along with johnny mitchell and then hagman, the goal scorer. that will be the three up for ron wilson against varly >> joe: toronto just lost in a

shootout to carolina. washington, you remember their most recent shootout, a little 121 rounds of fun with the new york islanders. oh, the rally lid spinning it around. there is gentleman mill mayers, hoping to get their second victory on home ice. he has to quit turning that hell et around >> joe: that looks funny on wayne prim working on the breakaway. >> reporter: washington with toronto tonight to give the ottawa senators on monday. we discussed how the senators have changed their look and cory klausen's gang ready to see washington. >> they isn't them a message when they had a real problem with danny heatley and he had to be moved. chichu not putting up the numbers they want.

and daniel alfredsson, one of the best swedes to play in the nhl. >> joe: varlamov, very nice save percentage wise in his young nhl career >> craig: if you break down both goold tenders, pluses and minus, you automatically give varly the big plus because of the size, joe. toskala is quick but he does not take up some netting like the caps' net minder does. >> joe: phil kessel back in his boston days earned wins for the bruins in shootouts against washington >> craig: how many times are they going to zam the ice here? >> joe: about another five minutes worth, i would say >> craig: they are really taking their time. the referee's talking to ovie in the center. ovie is saying, hey, let's make

sure it's nice and smooth. when it started, some home teams would leave some nice and snow. it has to be even for both teams. ovie is going to be sure that is the case here. the home team has the of course of choosing first in the shootout. >> craig: they are still complaining about the way the some bony cut across in the leafs zone and boudreau is giving it to the official also. and he is saying, hey, what the heck is that? there is a big turn there. the zam came over it and they may come back and ask for the zam to come out or at least get the squeejees. in hand, brad kovacheck. >> look at what was there? some of the guys like to spin away outside of the zam zone which is only to be roughly dot

to dot at the most >> joe: i think most fans enjoy the shootout but the five minute or so interlude between the end of overtime and shootout, i could do without >> craig: i agree with you. >> joe: kessel is ready. varlamov is ready. here we go, top of the first. phil kessel loves to attack with speed. fires and scores>> craig: now 11 for 30 in his career. all about speed but the release is what gets it done. watch how he releases the puck. he has two options. either to deke or release. that's a quick one >> joe: eric fehr leading off for washington. fehr, broke his stick. >> craig: oh, man, you are going on 100 much a hunch. he scored last night and hit the bar. and look at that darn thing,

breaks right in half >> joe: john mitchell up next trying to put toronto in a commanding position. fakes his way in. varlamov slammed the door. >> craig: so casual there for john trying to come in, trying to go 5 hole and varly quickly closes it up. here he comes in. he sees that little opening. that's exactly where he was trying to go >> joe: alex okachobee skin greeting with the unfriendly boos. how about top shelf? he scored in regulation, now trying to tie up this shootout. ovechkin with the wide glide, missed the target. >> craig: that's exactly where he was going. i thought he was going to go top shelf glove side and that's where he electd to go. this dent have the range. it comes at you. it got rolling on him, too, joe. he was going there the puck starts rolling. two unlucky plays here >> joe: hagman scores. the game is over.

hagman driving in, he does, top shelf. toronto celebrates at home. simeon varlamov, brilliant performance falls a bit short in front of the sellout crowd in t-o. the maple leafs win this one by. final count of 2-1. for craig luckin, thank you for your time. join us monday evening from ottawa as the caps and senators 7:30 on comcast sportsnet. up next, caps post game live. al koken, alan may standing by in the studio washington capitals fall to toronto by the final of 2-1.

>> al: they lose to two canadian teams, montreal canadiens here last night. alan may, you know, simeon varlamov gave his hockey team every opportunity to win but much like last night, it took the capitals too long to get into the game and when it was a winnable game in the third period, they didn't seem ready to put this thing away? >> alan: i think they were a very fatigued team, 38 shots against varlamov. he was very spectacular all game long. i thought the caps were very tired in the first period. they didn't have their legs yet. they got going near the end of the first. they had a great, you know, first 10 minutes of the second period but then they died in the last half of that. and in the third, they had no gas left. it started to show where the holes were on defense and where they are missing their players. you know, not all the

defensemen with porous but the inexperience showed and i think the fatigue very much showed tonight >> al: you also in a situation -- i always hate to do this any time the capitals lose. we act like the other team had nothing to do with it, that they were just along for the ride. let's give full marks to ron wilson's toronto maple leafs team. they played a very hard physical game. they kept the pressure on the capitals all night long. i wonder, where is the fatigue of the washington team. i don't want to discredit toronto because i thought they played a very strong home game and particularly in pinning the capitals deep in their own to start that third period. i think they set the tone for the hockey game >> alan: they were able to sit around and watch the caps play. they had no fatigue, came into the game very fresh. capitals are first place coming into tonight first place in the eastern conference. every team in the league is stpg up to give their best performance against the capitals and the capitals with having eight players out of the

line-up-- i'm not sure if that's correct but it seems like -- i may have my numbers mixed up but the capitals are fatigued. they have i don't know how many line combinations. the only two that seemed to be stuck together, backstrom and ovechkin are together. defense pairings were all over the place. but the bright spot, bright light was the spectacular play of varlamov. once again, 38 saves. he is just sensational. even with the loss ant shootout loss, this was his best game of the season >> al: let's show you what we were talking about in terms of this third period because, once again, with the game up for grabs, a 1-1 hockey game. washington capitals are back on their heels. part of the credit, as we mention, belong to the toronto maple leafs. they kept pinning the washington capitals down in their own zone >> craig: they just seemed to wind up like a top and they were winning all the races to the puck. they were great below the goal lines and making sure that they were getting to their shots on

net every time. the caps, they weren't getting the puck out with enough force or vengeance. they just looked tired and fatigued every single time and they had shifts like there are shift here, caps were entering the zone in about 2:20. it was shot after shot. varlamov came up big >> al: jeff schultz fumbling the puck there and the maple leafs getting a 2 on 1 as the caps get caught up ice >> alan: i thought jeff schultz had a tough game. he had a lot of minutes last night and he was getting beat all night last night. they had players, just too much separation. what i didn't like is how they kept punching the puck back in their own d zone. green doesn't know what to do with t he getsoutmuscled with the puck here. they could not get it deep when they needed to >> al: in the situation, the