Penalized Ovechkin Helps Punish Leafs

Toronto captain Mats Sundin opened the scoring by blasting a slap shot through Kolzig from the top of the circles to give the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 15 minutes 6 seconds.

Twenty-one seconds later, Ovechkin set up Green's milestone goal. Ovechkin skated the puck from his own end into the Maple Leafs' zone, slammed on the brakes, then threaded a pass onto Green's stick. Green fired a one-timer between the pads of Belfour, who finished with 26 saves.

Then things turned nasty. With 3:37 left to play in the first period, Ovechkin was shoved on top of Belfour by defenseman McCabe, who responded by cross-checking Ovechkin twice. Ovechkin climbed off of Belfour and went after McCabe, grabbing the defenseman by the collar. Belfour then jumped on Ovechkin's back, igniting a minor melee.

Kolzig skated the length of the ice to get in the face of Belfour, who from the looks of it, didn't want any part of Kolzig.

"I have a lot of respect for Eddie Belfour," Kolzig said. "But I didn't want to see our guy -- the guy -- get a blocker to the face. So I went down there. I just wanted to take care of our superstar."

Just 56 seconds into the second period, Laich gave his team a 2-1 lead. Laich's early goal only fueled the simmering animosity. Both teams' big hitters exchanged body checks, players yapped at one another and the Ovechkin-McCabe battle intensified.

"Teams are looking at Alex as the guy they need to take away," Clark said. "They figure if they can take him away, they are taking away a goal or two. But right now we have a well-rounded group. Guys are chipping in all over the place."

Capitals Notes: Clark's two-year extension will pay him $1 million next season and $1.1 million the following year, a significant raise over the $689,700 he is currently earning. The energetic, 29-year-old winger has scored a career-high 12 goals and equaled his career high for points with 25. Center Dainius Zubrus returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday's game.