Alexander Ovechkin (8) scores the second of his two second-period goals.

We head to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, as Aaron's Toronto Maple Leafs host Chris' Washington Capitals. If the playoffs ended today, neither of these teams would be in it. With lots of questions abound, Toronto will be shooting to get above .500 (19-19) and Washington will be looking to get to .500 (21-22). Should be a good one, so let's go!

Markus Naslund (19) opens-up the scoring with this 1st period goal.

This one would start quick, as an early Washington penalty would allow Markus Naslund to score an early goal for the Toronto Powerplay. A boatload of penalties would be traded (3 for Washington, followed by 4 for Toronto). But the period would end with Toronto leading by a score of 1 to nothing.

Marian Gaborik (10) gets Washington on the board in the 2nd, the first of 5 Cap goals that period.

Washington would be the one to open the scoring early in this period, as Marian Gaborik would get a Powerplay marker for the Caps. The Capitals would add to their lead, as Kris Beech would score just 17 seconds later. The Caps would hold their lead for another 5 minutes while killing a penalty, but Michal Handzus would win the next faceoff (after the penalty was killed) and deke Tommy Vokoun for the score. But the tie would not hold, and Toronto would not keep Alexander Ovechkin silent forever, as he would score to regain the lead for the Caps. Toronto would be assessed yeat another penalty, but Jeff O'neill would get a short-hander to even-things-up. But, Marian Gaborik would score (again) on the Powerplay anyway, just 30 seconds later. And if that wasn't bad enough, Ovechkin would pop-in another. The 2nd period would finally end, with the Capitals up by a score of 5 to 3.

Jason Blake (55) scores just 9 seconds into the 3rd period. It would be his 2nd of 5 points on the night, enroute to 1st Star honors.

Early scoring seemed to be the norm here, as Jason Blake would score for Toronto just 9 seconds in. Patrice Bergeron would score just 20-some seconds later, giving the impression that we're going to see a high-scoring period...again. Alex Steen would score for Toronto, to keep the dream alive. Mats Sundin would follow with a goal of his own to tie the game and turn the dream into hope. And Sundin would follow with one on the Powerplay to give the Leafs their first lead since the early 2nd period. Jason Blake would also score (again) on the Powerplay. Rob Blake would score an empty-netter to ice-the-cake, and the Maple Leafs would win by a final score of 9 to 6.

Mats Sundin (13) also would score twice in the 3rd period to give Toronto the lead for good.