The Washington Capitals' most lopsided loss of the season came against the Toronto Maple Leafs last month. To put it bluntly, the Caps will be looking for revenge Friday when the two teams meet at Verizon Center.
On "Hockey Night In Canada" November 19, the Leafs dismantled the Caps in a 7-1 win. It was Washington's sixth loss in seven games at the time and one of Bruce Boudreau's last gasps as head coach. He was fired just over a week later.
Since that loss, the Caps are still struggling with a 4-5-0 record, but are under the watch of Dale Hunter, who has instilled some confidence and fight in a Washington team that lacked it for weeks. Meanwhile, the Leafs are 4-3-1 and have another 7-1 victory to their credit against the Tampa Bay Lightning November 22. Phil Kessel is tied for the league lead with 17 goals.
The Caps will once again be without Mike Green, who is still recovering from a strained right groin muscle. The respective statuses of Matt Hendricks (undisclosed) and Roman Hamrlik (lower-body) are uncertain.