CAPITALS HOLD ON

WASHINGTON RIDES EARLY LEAD TO VICTORY

Capitals even first-round series with Leafs; Sens beat Bruins —

Mike Babcock watched a young team, much like his own, get spanked by a veteran opponent on Tuesday night and wanted his team to be prepared for a similar situation.

He told his players how the level of play would rise higher with every game that passed.

“It’s so important that you get off to a good start here tonight and prepare to compete,” Babcock said before Game 4 on Wednesday morning. “They’re going to compete. We have to compete.”

It didn’t happen, as everything Babcock warned his players about ultimately materialized in a 5-4 loss that pulled Washington even with Toronto at two games apiece in their first-round matchup.

The Capitals came out of the gate in the first period, scoring twice in the first five minutes for the second straight game. They pumped two more past Frederik Andersen before the opening frame was done, simply overwhelming the Leafs with their tenacity, skill, size and presence in the offensive zone.

Toronto looked fast and full of skill in snatching two of the first three games, but none of that was evident through two periods on Wednesday night. The Leafs struggled to gain more than a single flurry of pressure against Braden Holtby.

“I thought today was the first time that maybe we weren’t scared enough of them and it looked like it because our competition level wasn’t good enough,” Babcock said afterward.

The Leafs coach wasn’t so dismayed by a Game 1 loss for the confidence it brought the group. This was different. This was a missed opportunity to wrestle hold of a series that his group wasn’t supposed to win. Instead, opportunity slipped away. Tom Wilson, who scored the overtime winner in the opener, had a pair in a dominant first period which saw the Caps outshoot the Leafs 15-6 and manage 26 even-strength shot attempts to just 14 for Toronto.

Wilson was everywhere on both goals, displaying the spirit Babcock was looking for in his group. The 23-year-old first stopped Morgan Rielly’s shot from sneaking across the goal-line and then raced to the other end to deflect an innocent Lars Eller shot. He scored on his next shift to give the Caps a 4-1 advantage after bowling over Rielly near the Washington blue line.

“We’ve got to be more prepared,” said Auston Matthews, who scored late in Toronto’s comeback attempt. “We still have to be prepared to come out on time.”