Maple Leafs come to life in second period, pull away from Capitals

For a while it looked as if the most interesting thing about the Leafs game against the Washington Capitals on Sunday was the pre-game celebration of John Tavares's 1,000th game. Morgan Rielly ended a season-long drought with his first goal, one of four the Leafs scored in the period, and Toronto went on to win 5-1. He raised his stick and looked to the rafters in a mix of celebration and relief after his goal. Tavares got on the scoresheet twice, setting up Michael Bunting for the Leafs’ first goal — after Nicklas Backstrom had given Washington a 1-0 lead in the first period — and Rielly’s go-ahead goal. William Nylander made it 3-1 with his team-leading 28th goal of the season, extending his point streak to seven games.