OT hero John Tavares makes his feelings known about Leafs' disallowed goals in comeback win over Capitals

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Nov 14, 2024 05:07 GMT

The Toronto Maple Leafs came from behind to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday night. John Tavares, the Leafs’ captain, scored the game-winning goal. After the game, Tavares spoke about his frustration with two disallowed goals that could have changed the outcome.

The game got off to a tough start for the Leafs as the Capitals took a 3-1 lead with goals from Taylor Raddysh, Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas. Toronto rallied in the second period, but two potential goals were disallowed, which didn’t sit well with Tavares.

“Yeah, we stuck with it. It wasn’t a perfect game, but we felt a lot better about our play in the second period. Obviously, their lead grew, but we started putting the game more in our favor and doing a better job," Tavares said.

On one occasion, Maple Leafs' Morgan Rielly struck a slapshot that was about to hit the goalpost, but teammate Matthew Knies redirected it for the goal. Knies was deemed to be inside the blue zone, and the goal was disallowed.

Later, Steven Lorentz struck another goal, but Capitals goalie Logan Thompson's view was blocked by Connor Dewar's presence in the blue zone, leading to another disallowed goal.

Despite the setbacks, the Leafs maintained their focus, regrouped and continued to apply pressure.

“We just talked about staying with it,” Tavares said. “There were a couple of goals that didn’t count, and we feel differently about those, but that’s the way it goes. We found a way to stay with it and earn the two points, with some big saves by Joe, especially in overtime right before I scored. Good character and a nice bounce-back from this draft.”

William Nylander played a big part in Toronto’s comeback. With just over four minutes left in regulation, he scored to narrow the lead before assisting on Mitch Marner’s game-tying goal during a 6-on-4 power play.

Goaltender Joseph Woll was pulled for an extra attacker while Washington’s Nic Dowd was in the penalty box, giving the Leafs an advantage.

Nylander’s strong performance came after his mistake the day before, which led to an early goal in a loss to Ottawa.

John Tavares’ overtime winner was set up by a key save from Woll, who stopped 24 of 27 shots. The Leafs now prepare to host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

John Tavares has been performing well this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs

Through 16 games, John Tavares has scored nine goals and added seven assists, totaling 16 points. Tavares is also among the league's most active shooters, with over 56 shots on goal, placing him sixth in the NHL.

After Toronto’s 4-1 win over Montreal, Tavares expressed concern for teammate Max Pacioretty, who left the game in the first period due to a lower-body injury.

"We’ve obviously found some chemistry together and had some success early, so we’re obviously going to miss him and what he brings to the table," Tavares said per SK.

John Tavares hopes for a positive update on Pacioretty’s condition, as he missed Tuesday’s game and Connor Dewar made his season debut in his place.