Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock wasn't pleased with his team's effort in Game 4.

"We didn't compete hard enough," Babcock told reporters following the 5-4 loss to the Washington Capitals. "I thought they won all the battles and all the races."

Throughout the season, Babcock usually remained pretty coy following losses in order to protect his young team. However, it's possible the club may have had too much confidence heading into Game 4 with a 2-1 series lead.

"I thought today was the first time that maybe we weren't scared enough of them and it looked like it because our competition level wasn't good enough," said Babcock.

The Leafs certainly didn't come out with the same jump they had in Games 1 and 2 - and for most of the regular season. They had been one of the best first-period teams in the entire league, but in uncharacteristic fashion, they got off to a sluggish start in back-to-back games.

"You can come back once in a while from behind like we did the other night," said Babcock. "But I don't think you can spot the other team two goals all the time, especially now that they're energized and winning all the battles."

Though the poor start is ultimately what lost them the game, the Leafs deserve credit for relentlessly clawing back. They trailed 4-1 after the first frame, but only ended up losing 5-4. But as they say, being close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Given Babcock's emphasis on effort and compete level in his postgame press conference, you can expect the Leafs to answer the bell and come out firing on all cylinders to start Game 5.

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Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves was at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night to cheer on his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs as they battled the Washington Capitals in Game 4 of their opening-round series.

Attending his first-ever hockey game, Wiggins rocked a personalized Leafs jersey with his name and No. 22 displayed on the back.

His presence wasn't the good luck charm the Leafs needed, though, as they fell 5-4 to Washington to tie things up at two games apiece.

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Craig Anderson is putting Erik Karlsson up on the level of the greatest player in Ottawa Senators history.

Following a win that gave the club a 3-1 series lead over the Boston Bruins, the goaltender equated Karlsson's lead-by-example style to that of Daniel Alfredsson - Ottawa's longtime captain and all-time leading scorer - saying everyone is buying in.

Related: 3 Erik Karlsson plays that turned the tide in Senators' favor

"He’s starting to remind me a lot (of Alfredsson), where guys are starting to kill themselves for him," Anderson said after Game 4, per Joe McDonald of ESPN.

Alfredsson, of course, led the Senators to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final, but this year's Senators have a long way to go yet.

But Karlsson is indeed proving himself to be a leader both on and off the ice, with an all-world game to back it up.

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It's comparable to the easiest pages in the "Where's Waldo?" books.

Deep in the heart of Toronto, a multitude of Maple Leafs fans gathered to watch Game 4. Somehow, a trio of Washington Capitals fans made their way to the front of the pack, and was caught cheering on a win in a sea of sad faces.

Because it's the Cup.

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T.J. Oshie picked the perfect time to get on the scoresheet.

The Washington Capitals winger fired home his first goal of the playoffs in the opening period of Game 4 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, finding the back of the net at the 2:58 mark.

It was a crucial goal for the Capitals, who were down 2-1 in their series against the wild-card Maple Leafs and looked to build an early lead Wednesday. The three previous contests were decided in overtime, with the Capitals taking Game 1 and the Maple Leafs coming out on top in the two most recent affairs.

But Oshie's most important goal would come at the 12:59 mark of the third period, after keeping the puck in the zone and beating Maple Leafs netminder Frederik Andersen with a five-hole goal.

Initially an insurance marker, the goal ended up as the game-winner, after Toronto center Tyler Bozak brought the score to 5-4 with 27 seconds left on the clock.

While Oshie registered four points - all assists - through the first three games of the series, the two tallies were his first goals since wrapping the regular season with a career-high 33.

It's that type of performance that will make the 30-year-old one of the top free agents available this summer.

Oshie and the Capitals will have a chance to push their series lead to 3-2 in Washington on Friday.

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TORONTO - Tom Wilson and T.J. Oshie each scored two goals, and the Washington Capitals beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Wednesday night to tie their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.

Alex Ovechkin added his third goal of the playoffs as the top-seeded Capitals regained momentum with the series shifting back to Washington for Game 5 on Friday night. Braden Holtby made 30 saves.

Zach Hyman, James van Riemsdyk, Auston Matthews, and Tyler Bozak scored for Toronto, which was coming off a 4-3 overtime win on Monday night. Frederik Andersen stopped 22 shots.

The Maple Leafs rallied after the Capitals scored four times in the first for a 4-1 lead. Bozak, who had the winning goal in Game 3, got Toronto within one with 26 seconds left, but Washington held on from there.

The tight finish came after a dominant start for the Capitals.

Oshie got Washington on the board when he capitalized on a Nate Schmidt point shot sent purposefully wide of the net. Ovechkin then was left wide open for a one-time drive on a power play, making it 2-0 at 4:34 of the first.

It was similar to Game 3 when Toronto also went down 2-0 in the first five minutes, but the club was unable to recover this time around. The Capitals added two more goals in the first in a span of less than three minutes - both by Wilson, a Toronto native.

Moved up in the lineup for Game 4 as coach Barry Trotz looked for a spark, Wilson first pulled back a Morgan Rielly shot from the goal line after it snuck through the pads of Holtby. He then raced the other way and deflected Lars Eller's harmless shot from the sideboards past Andersen.

On his next shift, Wilson barreled over Rielly near the Washington blue line and then finished off a 2-on-1 sequence with Andre Burakovsky for a 4-1 lead at 16:04.

Van Riemsdyk scored early in the second on a power play, but Toronto wasted nearly two full minutes of a 5-on-3 advantage.

Washington appeared to go up 5-2 with just under 12 minutes to go, but the goal by Schmidt was waved off on goalie interference. The Caps challenged the play, which saw Nicklas Backstrom get tangled up with Andersen, but the initial call was confirmed.

Matthews scored his second at 12 minutes, but Oshie restored Washington's two-goal lead 59 seconds later.

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In the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, it's Erik Karlsson who fits to a tee whatever definition you ascribe to the term "gamebreaker."

Over the past three games, the Ottawa Senators defenseman has reminded the hockey world that he's quite simply one of the best at any position, setting up key goals in ways that few others can.

Here's a look at three plays that have most definitely helped turn the tide in Ottawa's favor in a series the Senators now lead 3-1 over the Boston Bruins.

Draw them in, dish it off

Down a goal in the third period of Game 2, Karlsson was somehow able to keep the puck in the offensive zone, skate around the opposition while attracting all the attention, and send a perfect pass across the ice to Derick Brassard, who made no mistake on a wide open net.

Tie game, and the Senators went on to win in overtime.

Breakout pass for the ages

Mike Hoffman opened the scoring in Game 4 with a spectacular move on Tuukka Rask, but the breakaway opportunity was sprung by a seemingly impossible lob pass from Ottawa's goal line to Boston's blue line.

That could end being one of the nicest plays of the postseason when it's all said and done.

Slap pass for the win

The Senators ultimately needed a lone goal to prevail in Game 4, and it was set up by a filthy slap pass to Bobby Ryan.

Karlsson has five assists in four games, and is proving, without question, to be Ottawa's most valuable player.

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BOSTON - Bobby Ryan scored early in the third period, Craig Anderson stopped 22 shots and the Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins 1-0 on Wednesday night for a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

It was Anderson's fourth career playoff shutout.

Tuukka Rask made 26 saves for Boston, which had a goal disallowed in the first when Ottawa coach Guy Boucher challenged and the replay showed Noel Acciari was offside.

The Bruins, who were winless in four games against the Senators in the regular season, will try to force the series back to Boston with a victory in Ottawa in Game 5 on Friday night.

After back-to-back overtime games, this one remained scoreless until 5:49 into the third, when Erik Karlsson's slap shot deflected off Rask to his stick side. Ryan pulled it from his backhand to his forehand and swiped at it as Zdeno Chara dove behind Rask into the crease to try to knock the puck away from the goal line.

The 6-foot-9 defenseman was able to reach out and prevent the first attempt from going in, but Ryan pushed it over the line with his second.

The Bruins pulled Rask with almost two minutes left and managed a couple of scoring chances - both from Brad Marchand - but Anderson turned them away.

NOTES: Bruins D Colin Miller returned after missing Games 2 and 3 with an unspecified injury. ... Ottawa D Mark Borowiecki missed his second straight game. ''Boro is getting closer every day,'' Boucher said. ... Ottawa F Tom Pyatt left after a hit from Kevan Miller early in the first. ... Bruins C Patrice Bergeron, a three-time Selke Trophy winner, was named a finalist for the award for the sixth time Wednesday.

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St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen baked a batch of turnovers before Game 4, and decided to save one for Minnesota Wild forward Charlie Coyle.

After the Wild dumped the puck in Wednesday, Allen blindly rimmed it around the boards, failing to realize that not only was his defenseman not present, but Coyle was waiting in the wings, anticipating the puck. He made no mistake capitalizing on the giveaway.

The goal gave Minnesota their first lead of the series, in part due to Allen's spectacular play, as he had a 0.91 goals-against average and .974 save percentage in the series heading into this game.

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Brian Elliott was on a short leash Wednesday.

The Calgary Flames netminder was yanked just 5:38 into the opening period of Game 4 after Anaheim Ducks forward Patrick Eaves scored an iffy goal.

Chad Johnson came in to relieve Elliott, only to allow a goal just 1:08 later.

Anaheim leads the opening-round series 3-0, and will try for the sweep.

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