Ovechkin makes quick work of the Maple Leafs in 6-1 rout

Alex Ovechkin got off to a flying start against Toronto, scoring the opening goal after just 49 seconds in the Washington Capitals' 6-1 demolition of Toronto.

Alex Ovechkin got off to a flying start against Toronto, scoring the opening goal after just 49 seconds and going on to make a career-high four assists in the Washington Capitals' 6-1 demolition of the Maple Leafs on Friday night. Ovechkin's goal was his 29th of the season, but it was his team-first mentality that pleased the coach Bruce Boudreau. "There is no doubt he loves to play and he's all about winning," Boudreau said. "He thinks of his teammates all the time. Whether he gets an assist or whether he gets nothing, when the team does well, he does well."

The Toronto goalie Vesa Toskala surrendered six goals on 24 shots as the Caps moved to within a point of New Jersey for first place in the Eastern Conference. Ovechkin, whose five points were a season high, was quick to credit his teammates. "We got a lot of chances," he said. "I was [just] there." The netminder Jose Theodore made 28 saves against the Leafs, who despite sitting near the bottom of the standings lead the league in shots on goal.

"Getting lots of shots doesn't help you if you don't win games," the Toronto coach Ron Wilson said. "It doesn't matter how many shots a good team gets, they still manage to find ways to win and we don't do that often enough. "It just shows their [the Capitals] skill level. They scored on just about every chance they had." Eric Fehr made it 2-0 to Washington with a little over two minutes left in the first period before Mike Knuble scored twice early in the second to extend their lead to 4-0.

Tomas Kaberle pulled one back for the Leafs with a power-play goal before the end of the second but Tomas Fleischmann and Tom Poti completed the rout in the third. The Leafs have lost seven of their last 10 games and are nine points away from a play-off place. In the night's only other game, Patric Hornqvist had the only score and Dan Ellis made 22 saves for his first shutout of the season in the Nashville's 1-0 win over Calgary.