Frederic Cassivi looked extremely confident in goal last night as he helped the Capitals maintain dignity through a three to zero loss at Toronto that could have been much worse.

Cassivi preserved a scoreless tie with solid, calm, positional goaltending through twenty-three minutes of play in spite of receiving a dirty slash to the back of his helmet from notorious goon Darcy Tucker, who was immediately knocked to the ice by stalwart Caps defenseman John Erskine.

Tucker opened the scoring for the Leafs, getting into good position on the far side of the crease and punching in a high rebound with his arm. The goal was immediately sent to NHL headquarters for video review to determine whether Tucker used his arm intentionally or whether the arm was moving forward because he was momentarily possessed by demons. Usually this replay analysis process takes two minutes and is exceedingly accurate, but last night’s review awarded Tucker a questionable goal within twenty seconds.

It probably helps that NHL headquarters is in Toronto, and the Leafs are struggling to make the playoffs. The Caps, meanwhile, should be thrilled with the loss, which keeps them only one point above Columbus and Chicago, who are tied for twenty-sixth overall. Only one of the three teams is likely to reach the league’s bottom four and enter the lottery for the top pick, but all of them will certainly add good players in this summer’s draft.

Photograph of Frederic Cassivi with his Calder Cup by Eli Resnick