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“That’s what leaders do. He got us a big couple goals and fought hard all game.”
Then Wilson prevented the Capitals from really feeling the pressure going into Game 2 Saturday by finally finding the net in his 29th playoff game. Growing up a fan of Maple Leafs players like Darcy Tucker, Ed Belfour, Curtis Joseph, Shayne Corson and Mats Sundin, he never envisioned scoring this kind of goal against his boyhood team.
“You’ve lived this moment in your brain when you’re a young kid in the backyard or whatever when you’re 8, 9, 10 years old,” Wilson said. “So let’s just go out there and play. The playoffs are the best time of year. The building was unbelievable, the fans are second-to-none here and, obviously, a pretty good feeling putting that in the net.”
Wilson’s goal came two days after Babcock said the fourth-line winger is “not as big of concern as a lot of people” on the Capitals. The 23-year-old agreed with Babcock and tried to brush that off.
“He’s got a point,” Wilson said. “There are other guys that they have to worry about.”
Wilson is one of several Capitals players the Maple Leafs have to worry about as they try to dig out of a 1-0 hole.
“It’s a tough way to start the playoffs but they came back and took it to us,” Gardiner said. “They’re a heck of a team, but I also think we’re no slouch either so we’re not going away.”
NOTES: Capitals D John Carlson returned after missing the final four regular-season games with a lower-body injury. ... Maple Leafs D Nikita Zaitsev was out with a lower-body injury . ... Marner is the first Toronto rookie to score a playoff goal since Jeff Farkas in 2000 . ... Washington has won eight in a row at home against Toronto and eight of the teams’ past nine meetings.