In Toronto, Nicklas Backstrom gave the Washington Capitals a 1-0 lead on Sunday in the first period.
It took a period for the Maple Leafs to reply, but they scored four times in the middle frame and once in the third for a convincing 5-1 win on Sunday.
Ilya Samsonov made 23 saves in the Toronto win.
The Maple Leafs improved to 31-12-8.
John Tavares picked up a pair of assists in his 1,000th career NHL game.
“It was something [with the emotions] I tried to obviously be aware of but just tried to be where my feet were all day long and stick to the preparation with some added bonus with the ceremony with my family out on the ice, which was really special,” Tavares said. “Just tried to get into the game and keep it simple early and get myself moving. Tried to execute and keep the game simple in front of me and just build from there but overall, it was a great night from the group.”
The four-goal outburst came in just under 13 minutes.
“We play today more for Johnny, yeah,” Samsonov said. “A thousand games, this is amazing. … It’s unbelievable, we’re so happy for him and it was a really nice win against my ex-team. I enjoy it.”
Michael Bunting tied the game, 1-1, off the power play at 1:29 of the second Bunting stuffed ni a loose puck in the crease.
Washington dropped to 26-20-6.
“Obviously the standings are getting tight this time of year and you want to keep climbing as much as you can… but losing after a [win] is something we have to avoid and start stringing together some wins,” Capitals forward Conor Sheary said.
Morgan Rielly put the Leafs ahead to stay with a goal at 7:00.
“I thought the first period was good, the second period, we didn’t do the right things defensively and it burned us,” Washington coach Peter Laviolette said.
“It was out of position, wrong assignment and it caught us. I don’t think it was an overwhelming amount of pressure, but at the end of the day, it’s about details and I think the details in the second period were not good enough.”
William Nylander scored the second greasy marker of the game to make it 3-1 for Toronto.
Pierre Engvall scored at 14:20 of the second for a 4-1 advantage headed to the third.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever played with a better professional than Morgan,” Tavares said. “The way he carries himself, you’d never know [he hadn’t scored]. I think he is a world class player, person and leader and when the puck hasn’t been going in, it’s never easy especially between the ears. … You don’t see him hanging his head or sinking his shoulders.”
Zach Aston-Reese hit for the 5-1 final score late in the third period.
“It was good, we wanted to respond,” Rielly said. “We weren’t very proud of ourselves when we were leaving here after that game against Ottawa. It was a good day of practice yesterday, a good day with our Easter Seals skate and then to come out and perform well, that was good.”
Darcy Kuemper got the start for the Caps and yielded four goals in the middle frame, and made 16 saves before getting the hook.
Charlie Lindgren made six saves in a mop up role.
“We had a good first period, but we gave it away in the second there,” Backstrom said. “It’s tough to come back when they score four goals during the second. You’re not going to win hockey games when you play like that.
“It doesn’t feel good, that’s for sure. We played a good game against Pittsburgh (3-2 shootout win on Thursday), 60 minutes and obviously we didn’t tonight. At the end of the day, we have to regroup here going to Columbus for the next one and finish off strong before the break.”
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