{"id":546675,"date":"2026-04-08T03:46:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T03:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/546675\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T03:46:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T03:46:26","slug":"capitals-face-maple-leafs-clinging-to-fading-playoff-hopes-field-level-media-professional-sports-content-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/546675\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitals face Maple Leafs clinging to fading playoff hopes – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Capitals will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

With four games remaining in the regular season, Washington (39-30-9, 87 points) trails three teams in the race for third place in the Metropolitan Division and four teams for the second and final wild card in the Eastern Conference. <\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs (32-31-14, 78 points) have been eliminated from playoff contention and return home after losing three of four on a road swing.<\/p>\n

Washington is coming off a weekend that saw their chances soar and then plummet in a span of 24 hours.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, the Capitals beat the visiting Buffalo Sabres 6-2 in one of their most impressive wins of the season to move within one point of the second wild-card spot after an 8-3-2 stretch. On Sunday, they were routed 8-1 on the road by the last-place New York Rangers.<\/p>\n

Connor McMichael scored for the Capitals and Charlie Lindgren allowed all eight goals on 33 shots in his first start since March 12.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating because we fought as hard as we have to get back into this spot where we\u2019re within striking distance,\u201d Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. \u201cDoes it take a lot of you? No doubt. But these are big games, and unfortunately, we just didn\u2019t have any gas tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Washington will have a new face in the lineup Wednesday as Ilya Protas makes his NHL debut. The 19-year-old has recorded a team-high 62 points (28 goals, 34 assists) in 66 games with Hershey of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season.<\/p>\n

Protas leads AHL rookies in points and ranks second in goals among first-year players. The forward was Washington\u2019s third-round pick (75th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just unbelievable,\u201d Ilya Protas said Tuesday of his promotion. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it for a second and I was shaky for a bit. Special for sure and can\u2019t describe it. I can\u2019t wait for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protas will center a line between his brother, Aliaksei, and Tom Wilson.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, the Maple Leafs took the Los Angeles Kings to overtime before losing 7-6. It was the first time Toronto lost when scoring at least six goals since April 5, 2022, also in a 7-6 overtime loss that came against the Florida Panthers.<\/p>\n

Matthew Knies had two goals with two assists and John Tavares had a goal and two assists for the Maple Leafs. Joseph Woll allowed the seven goals on 40 shots as Toronto led 2-0 through one period and later rallied from a 6-4 third-period deficit to force overtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, the entertainment value was really high,\u201d Tavares said. \u201cFor us, we had a lot of leads in this game, and I think for us to just (be) a little bit loose, execution, some of our decisions, just some mistakes that hurt us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tavares has seven points in a three-game point streak (four goals, three assists) and reached 30 goals in a season for the eighth time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to work for my game to be what I expect it to be and try to get as much value as you can out of our finish to the season here,\u201d Tavares said.<\/p>\n

\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n

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