The Leafs versus Capitals ‘rivalry’ is hardly a storied one.
141 games played between the two clubs since 1974, with nary a playoff match, before today. The Leafs are seven games under .500 all-time, in head-to-head matches: 60-67-10-4.
Two Hall of Famers have played for both sides: Mike Gartner and Larry Murphy.
Auston Matthews and Alex Ovechkin – the offensive spark plugs for their respective squads – are both first-round overall picks. Coincidentally, they share the same birthday: September 17.
Apart from that, there is not much overlap through 43 years of co-existence between the franchises.