so opportunities can hopefully present themselves to put

TORONTO -- The play didnt actually result in a goal in Torontos 4-2 victory over Washington, but came pretty close, another demonstration of the ease with which the NHL seems to be coming to Maple Leafs rookie Mitch Marner.It was late in the second period Saturday night when Marner circled the Washington goal with puck in tow, cut back through the slot to where he started and then whipped a pass across the ice to Tyler Bozak, his attempt denied by reigning Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby.Marner had his eyes up the whole way, scanning the ice for opportunities, not bothered seemingly by Marcus Johansson, the Capitals winger trailing on the play.When you see him start wheeling the zone like that and going for a full lap you know its a confident player, linemate James van Riemsdyk said.Marner had already set up two Toronto goals at that point, vaulting into a share of first in the rookie scoring race while helping the Leafs end a three-game losing streak.The 19-year-old, now with 18 points, has matched Winnipeg sensation Patrik Laine for first among rookies, and also tied van Riemsdyk for the Leafs scoring lead. Marner leads all NHL rookies with 14 even-strength points, boasting six multi-point outings in his first 21 NHL games.Hes a guy who loves the game and he works really hard at it so the skys the limit for him, van Riemsdyk said.Marner set up goals from van Riemsdyk and Matt Martin, and Matthews scored his first goal at home in more than a month. Nazem Kadri added his ninth goal of the season.Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson scored, and Holtby made 37 saves for Washington.We didnt look like the Washington Capitals out there at all, Holby said. Completely embarrassed by a young team. Its not acceptable in our culture here. Were going to have to be better. Every one of us. It was completely embarrassing.Off since a Wednesday night shootout loss in New Jersey and facing a Washington squad playing its third game in four nights, the Maple Leafs appeared the much fresher team early.Martin opened the scoring less than 3 minutes in when he got behind the Washington tandem of John Carlson and Dmitry Orlov and beat Holtby for his second goal of the season and second in two games. The 27-year-old, who went the first 19 games of the year without a goal, was set up beautifully on the play by Marner, the 19-year-old firing a dart from one blue line to the other for his 17th point of the season.The Leafs kept it coming after the goal, outshooting the Capitals 12-1 at one point in the first while drawing three power plays. They came close to beating Holtby once more, but the reigning Vezina Trophy winner stood his ground, turning aside the final 12 shots of the period.The home side grabbed their fourth power play of the game moments into the second when Peter Holland gained a step on Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner, held as he broke free for an opportunity on Holtby. Holland was in the lineup for only his eighth game this year because 20-year-old rookie William Nylander was sidelined with an upper body injury (day-to-day).With the power play it was Marner again showing his skill. He dropped a soft pass into the slot for fellow rookie Nikita Soshnikov and while his attempt was denied, the puck landed right in front of van Riemsdyk. He promptly flipped the puck over Holtbys left pad for his team-leading ninth goal this season.Toronto got in and out of trouble a short while later. With Zach Hyman already in the box for holding, Leo Komarov was then whistled for hooking, giving the Capitals a 24-second five-on-three advantage. The Leafs managed to kill off both penalties though and escape unharmed.Holtby continued to perform throughout a more evenly-played second, countered at the other end by Andersen. The Leafs No. 1 stopped Taylor Chorney streaking down the right side with a glove save and then turned aside both Matt Niskanen and Backstrom on another Capitals man advantage.Marner continued to dazzle otherwise. After blocking a Justin Williams shot and hobbling off the bench the Thornhill, Ont., native then returned to make another eye-catching play. With puck in tow and Johansson trailing, Marner circled around the net, cut back through the slot to where he started and then flung a pass to Tyler Bozak, his attempt just above the goal-line denied by Holtby.Matthews padded the Leafs lead to three 22 seconds into the third when he blasted a Matt Hunwick rebound for his ninth goal of the season.Andersen made maybe his best stop of the game near the midway point of the final period, stretching to snatch Carlsons attempt with his glove.Backstrom scored a short time later, stuffing a shot into the goal on a scramble around the net.Game notes Toronto had dropped its previous three games all by a goal (0-2-1), downed by Montreal, Carolina and New Jersey.UP NEXT:Capitals: Have four days off before facing the New York Islanders at home Thursday nightMaple Leafs: Open a three-game Western Canada swing at Edmonton on Tuesday night. Yeezy Boost 350 Wholesale . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 Australia . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. http://www.wholesaleyeezy350australia.com/ . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Buy Yeezy 350 Australia . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. Yeezy Boost 350 Australia Release . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. SAO PAULO -- Lewis Hamilton has the recent edge on Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, winning the last two Formula One races in Mexico and the United States.The Englishman had it again Friday in both practices for the Brazilian Grand Prix, each time finding just a sliver of extra pace to nip Rosberg.Hamilton needs a victory on Sunday to push the season-title chase to the last race in two weeks in Abu Dhabi.Its been a good day, Hamilton said. Its pretty tough out here physically right now with the heat as high as it is. We can be happy with the start we made today.For his part, Rosberg can claim his first Formula One title if he wins on Sunday, which would deprive Hamilton of a chance for his fourth drivers title.Rosberg leads Hamilton by 19 points in the season standings through 19 of 21 races. The German also complained about the heat as Brazil moves into its summer months.Strategy-wise it wont be straightforward for the race, Rosberg said. But, again, its meant to get quite a lot colder so we could see something completely different on Sunday.The track was dry on Friday, and should be in qualifying on Saturday. But rain is in the forecast for Sunday, which could cause havoc aand upsets.dddddddddddd.The Interlagos circuit has a history of wet races and shocking finishes.Theres some unpredictable weather forecast over the next few days, so opportunities can hopefully present themselves to put up a bit of a challenge, said Christian Horner, team principal for Red Bull, which has been Mercedes No. 1 rival all season.To be fair, Hamilton might be leading the standings were it not for the Malaysian Grand Prix in October. His engine caught fire near the end of the race, a race he was leading easily. That cost him 25 points, and hes been chasing ever since.Hamilton was 0.230 seconds faster than Rosberg in the first practice session, and just a tiny sliver faster in the second -- 0.030 -- on the hilly track south of Sao Paulos downtown area.This circuit is renowned for throwing jokers into the pack, Paddy Lowe, Mercedes technical director said. So we take nothing for granted heading into the weekend.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade ' ' '