Caps Win 3rd Straight, Defeat Toronto 4-1

On the glorious night where #11, the jersey of Caps great Mike Gartner was retired, the Washington Capitals did not disappoint.

Brooks Laich scored twice while G Jose Theodore stopped 23 of 24 shots to earn his 2nd straight win and his second game allowing 2 or less goals.  Theo took another step toward nailing down what was suppose to be his when he signed a two year free agent deal with the Caps in the off-season, the starting goalie job.   The Caps also welcomed Mike Green and Jeff Schultz back to the lineups.
Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a Niklas Hagman boomer on Theodore.  It was the only scoring of the first period.  The Capitals out shot the Maple Leafs 12-9 in the first period.
Brooks Laich scored his first goal of the night in the second period on the power play, a complete stuff right in  the face of Toronto goalie Vesa Toskala.  It was Liach’s 9th of the season, assisted by Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green.   The Caps second goal came with just 9 seconds left in the second period when great #8, Alexander Ovechkin, scored his 24th goal of the year to give the Caps a 2-1 lead.  The goal was assisted by Milan Jurcina.  Caps out shot the Leafs 12-6 in the second period.
Laich would score his 2nd of the game late in the third period, his 10 of the year to give the Caps a commanding 3-1 lead, essentially ending the game.  Ovechkin would score #25 with an empty net late in the third.
The Capitals have won their third straigth and 8 out of their last 9.  Overall in December, the Caps imporve to 10-3 and imporve to 15-1-1 at the Verizon Center, home ice.
Multi-Point Scorers:
Nicklas Backstrom, 2 assist.
Mike Green, 2 assists
Brooks Laich, 2 goals
Alex Ovechkin, 2 goals
DCPSR Player (s) of the Game:
Brooks Laich and Jose Theodore
Next up:
TUE, DEC 30 @ Buffalo