Why isn’t penalties drawn a fantasy stat? Toffoli returns, Gardiner filling in for Phaneuf and more…

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Only a few games on last night but certainly some good ones.

The Capitals got the best of the Penguins in a matchup of two teams that played the night before. The Capitals coming off a loss in Columbus simply had way more juice than the Penguins coming off their come-from-behind win against the Jets. No idea if there was any psychology in play but up and down the Capitals were better.

Sidney Crosby was a game-time decision but did end up returning. Wonder if this had something to do with the letdown. The sample size is ridiculously small but the Penguins' win against Winnipeg without Crosby or Evgeni Malkin pushed them to 9-0-1 in 10 games since 2011 with both out of the lineup. Ewing Theory anyone? I think it's dumb but it's fun to talk about so I'll throw that out there.

Regardless of how they got there, considering this shutout win for Braden Holtby a feather in the cap for the camp that believes Holtby is a better own from here on out than Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury. I don't actually know that there is a Holtby "camp" here but maybe there should be.

This is not the first time I've suggested that Holtby may be one of the best goalies to own from here on out using Fleury as a comparison. My stance was that I didn't have the guts to bail on Fleury and I probably still don't but all of a sudden Holtby's numbers on the season are better than Fleury's. No really, look:

The margins are razor thin but one of these guys is trending up while the other is trending down. Actually, Holtby's shutout ended a three-game losing streak during which he had allowed four goals in each start but he has generally been playing much better.

Fleury, on the other hand, is now riding a four-game losing skid that I don't totally blame him for. The Penguins injury woes have really slowed them down after a hot start. Fleury played well last night but he couldn't control the fact that the skaters in front of him conceded an endless stream of two-on-ones.

Back to Holtby though. Look at all those starts. We all talk about what a workhorse that Cory Schneider has been all season (more on him later) but how about Holtby? He's started seven of every eight games for Washington, on pace for 70 appearances. I thought we'd never see the day with the way they've cycled goalies in Washington. Barry Trotz and Mitch Korn really have been the boon for Holtby that we all hoped they would be.

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Healthy scratch for Andre Burakovsky despite riding a three-game scoring streak. Lots of complaints about how this sends a bad message to the youngster, benching him despite his productivity but I might go the other way on this. Burakovsky may have scored in the Columbus game but he was also a minus-one. I didn't watch the game but isn't it possible he made a defensive gaff leading to that minus-one and thus warranting a benching?

Look, it's no surprise that Trotz is taking it slow with his youngsters. I hate myself a little bit for forgetting how tough it was for young players in Nashville when I jumped on board the Evgeny Kuznetsov for Calder bandwagon. But it doesn't mean Trotz is doing it wrong here.

Michael Latta snagged Burakovsky's spot in the lineup skating just 8:13 but he did what he's supposed to throwing down with Steve Downie.

I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention two-point nights for each of Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green. Ovechkin scored a couple of goals to vault himself ahead of Rick Nash and Tyler Seguin for sole possession of the goal-scoring lead with 29.

Ovechkin also snagged his fantasy owners some PIM for being way stronger than Christian Ehrhoff. Indeed, Ehrhoff attempted to hit Ovechkin but it was Ehrhoff who got the worst of it leaving the game following the hit. He did not return. No word on his status.

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Cory Schneider, mentioned previously for his workhorse status, also made his 42^nd appearance of the season last night standing tall against the suddenly anemic Leaf attack. He stopped 29 of 30 shots for the shootout win. He has definitely gotten his act together after a slow start to the season.

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The Leafs played their first game without Dion Phaneuf who we found out will miss time with a hand injury. Jake Gardiner skated 9:02 of a possible 10 minutes with the man advantage. So if you are wondering who benefits the most, I think we've found our man. Of course, the Leafs also went 0/5 on those power play chances so perhaps they go back to the drawing board.

The Leafs gave plenty of chances to a four-forward power play unit with Nazem Kadri sliding into a point spot alongside Gardiner. That meant less chances for Cody Franson in his usual spot on the top unit, which helps no one.

James van Riemsdyk had himself a night scoring the lone Leaf goal and firing off eight shots.

Leo Komarov returned to the lineup skating just 12:54 but was up on a line with Kadri and Phil Kessel. Check out the Leafs lines from last night:

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