Comfortably atop the NHL, the Washington Capitals realize their amazing regular season won't mean anything without some playoff success. They made moves to improve those chances, with one sending longtime center Brooks Laich to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Laich faces his former team three days after the deal as the league-worst Maple Leafs try to hand the Capitals a rare home loss Wednesday night.
Washington (46-12-4) leads the race for the Presidents' Trophy by 13 points with 20 games left in the regular season. Knowing that the pressure will mount in the playoffs after failing to reach the conference finals in seven of the past eight seasons, the Capitals made several deals before Monday's trade deadline.