Gallerie » Im pleased with our team effort.,”

WASHINGTON -- Washington linemates Joel Ward and Jason Chimera often play in the shadow of their higher-profile teammates. On Sunday afternoon, they sparked the Capitals to a much-needed victory. On a day when Alex Ovechkin was held to one shot on goal, the Capitals third line scored twice in a three-goal first period and the Capitals held on for 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ward had a goal and an assist and Chimera also tallied for Washington, which scored on three of its first five shots for a 3-0 lead "Ive counted on Wardo and Chimmer all year long," Capitals coach Adam Oates said. "They play together -- penalty kill, power play. Big bodies that we count on for a lot of minutes. "Its good to see them get rewarded because you dont get a lot of accolades based on that. You know, doing grunt work." Ward, in his seventh season, reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time and added his 20th assist, while Chimera scored his 13th goal and has points in seven of his past nine games. "A lot of the time (Ward) and Chimmer and (centre Eric Fehr) get overshadowed because of the names we have on this team," Troy Brouwer said. "Night in night out, I think they are our most consistent line." Brouwer scored the other first-period goal for Washington and added an empty-netter with four seconds left to seal the win after Toronto had pulled within 3-2 in the second period. The Capitals begin a three-game swing Tuesday in Anaheim, Calif. "Youve just got to win them all," Oates said of upcoming games at Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose. "I know theyre better than us in the standings, but youve got to have the attitude youre going to beat them." Recently acquired goalie Jaroslav Halak, making his fifth straight start, had 27 saves in the win. Karl Alzner assisted on two Washington goals. Dion Phaneuf had a goal and an assist for Toronto and Troy Bodie also scored. The Maple Leafs are 2-2 on their five-game road trip. "Obviously we were pretty flat the first period," Toronto coach Randy Carlyle said. "It looked like we were still in our afternoon nap. Playing an afternoon game just took us a good part of the game to get warmed up and get awake." James Reimer, starting in place of regular goalie Jonathan Bernier, who suffered a lower body injury in Thursdays win at Los Angeles, finished with 29 saves. Washingtons power play was 2 for 4. Toronto was 0 for 3. The Capitals have 12 power-play goals in their past 10 games. "They got a good power play," Bodie said. "We know that. They kind of picked us apart." Phaneuf pulled Toronto within 3-2 at 8:05 of the second period when he floated a shot from the point through a screen and past Halak for his eighth goal. Toronto then came up empty on three consecutive power-play chances over a seven-minute stretch. Two of Washingtons first-period goals were the result of crisp passing sequences. With Toronto a man down, Marcus Johansson took a pass behind the goal line from Nicklas Backstrom and fed Brouwer in the slot. Brouwer one-timed low shot past Reimer for his 19th goal just 3:34 into the first period. Wards effort in front made it 2-0 minutes later. Alzners shot was stopped in front, but Ward outdueled Reimer for the puck and his backhand deflected off Chimera, who was credited with the goal. "We werent good enough in the first 10 minutes," Reimer said. "You cant spot a team three goals. We just werent sharp, you know? Myself included. And it cost us." The Capitals soon got another power play, and this time it was Evgeny Kuznetsov who made nice pass in front, to Dustin Penner. Penner, stationed to the left of Reimer, shovelled a backhand pass across to Ward, who buried it in the open net. "Chimmer is one of the fastest guys in the league. I just try to give him the puck," Ward said. "Theres no secret. I just try to hide in the weeds and try to look for some loose pucks." Toronto didnt get its second shot on goal until the 17:15 mark of the first period, but it went in as Bodie beat Halak over his right shoulder. NOTES: The Capitals are 20-0-3 this season when leading after the second period. ... Capitals C Brooks Laich (lower body injury) was a scratch and has missed two of the past three games. Oates said hell visit a doctor in St. Louis this week. ... Toronto concludes its road trip Tuesday in Detroit. Royals Jerseys 2020 . Inter moved five points behind fourth-place Fiorentina and eight points behind third-place Napoli, which visits relegation-threatened Sassuolo on Sunday. Kansas City Royals Shirts . The Rainbow FlickNext up is the Rainbow Flick, or as you probably know it, the trick that everybody at soccer camp thought they knew how to do. https://www.cheaproyals.com/ . The Reds will host the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight in the opener of a four-game series at Great American Ball Park, and the debut matchup will feature a pair of pitchers whose recent resumes have included a fair number of bases-clearing hits. Stitched Royals Jerseys . Forsman closed with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions Sunday for his third Champions Tour title. He beat Jay Don Blake by two shots. Kansas City Royals Gear .35 million, avoiding arbitration. Davis led the majors last season with 53 home runs and 138 RBIs, both career highs. He earned $3. With both teams picking up a win on the road, the Canadiens will head back to Boston knowing they will need at least one more win away from home ice to claim their series over the Bruins. The Canadiens fell short in Game 4 with Matt Fraser scoring the 1-0 overtime goal to tie this series, but arent hanging their heads from yesterdays loss. "Im pleased with our team effort.,” coach Michel Therrien said at his post-game press conference last night. “The guys battled hard and when we got to overtime we knew the game could have gone both ways. Both teams played really hard." That same sentiment was echoed in the room by the team on Thursday. The Canadiens did not skate but they didd gather at their practice facility in Brossard to regroup before heading to Boston.dddddddddddd?? "Were confident as a team, it sucks to lose it, always hurts, but we arent discouraged," Lars Eller said Thursday when asked about the teams mindset. For the most part this season, the Canadiens have had success when playing at TD Bank Garden. They were undefeated in the regular season and picked up a Game 1 win. Tomas Plekanec sees Saturday nights game as an opportunity for his team to raise their game.? "I think we still have another level to our game,” Plekanec said. “We know we can go into Boston and play well to give ourselves a chance to win.” ' ' '