Heading in the same direction

Under normal circumstances the Toronto Maple Leafs would be thrilled -- and perhaps just a little bit honoured -- to be mirroring the season of the Washington Capitals, a team trying to live up to much higher expectations.

But while you could make the case this is a typical season for the Maple Leafs, it certainly isn't for the Capitals.

For the Leafs, just making the playoffs would be a significant triumph while the Capitals won't be satisfied with anything less than a trip to the Stanley Cup final.

Both teams got off to great starts this season - the Capitals opening with seven straight victories while the Leafs were 4-0-1. As of late, however, both have gone into the tank.

Washington arrives in Toronto for a Saturday night encounter having lost three in a row; five of their last six games and seven of their past 10. Some would argue now is the time to get it out of your system, but for a team with Cup aspirations and a history of being playoff flops, no time is a good time to be losing as much as the Capitals are.

The Leafs have dropped three straight and are winless at home in their past four. They lost 4-1 in Nashville Thursday, but the score was not indicative of their effort. The Leafs outshot the Predators 39-22. Nevertheless, being compared to the Capitals right now is not exactly flattering.

"Both teams are going to be trying to get everything back on track," said Leafs goalie Ben Scrivens. "Obviously we're fighting injuries and we'll have some guys out of the lineup. We've got no excuses. We've got a bunch of good players and we're going to find a way to put forth a really good effort and leave everything on the ice."

The Leafs have a host of injuries, starting with No. 1 goalie James Reimer who has been suffering concussion-like symptoms since Oct. 22 when he was hurt in Montreal.

Colby Armstrong is also out along with Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur; both injured against Phoenix Tuesday. Both Mike Komisarek and Matthew Lombardi were injured (upper body-wise) Thursday in Nashville and are expected to miss a minimum of three weeks.

Rugged winger Mike Brown unexpectedly (and unexplained) missed the game against the Predators, but could play against the Capitals.

Leafs coach Ron Wilson said the team would call up players from the Toronto Marlies if necessary. The Marlies played in Rochester Friday night.

Reimer made his first appearance on the ice since Nov. 4 Thursday when he, apparently, tried to make a premature comeback. He took part in lateral movement drills with goalie coach Francois Allaire and faced some easy shots. His return to the slippery stuff was seen as great news by his teammates, but regarded cautiously by his coach.

"It's great to see him out there," Scrivens said. "He's a huge part of this team and the sooner he gets back on the ice, the sooner he can help us and contribute to this team's success."

Added centre David Steckel: "It's encouraging. He was playing solid when he left and hopefully he comes back and doesn't miss a beat."

Wilson wisely warned against expecting his young and inexperienced stopper from coming back and performing miracles.

"He's feeling better, so he's on the ice today and he'll do a little bit more tomorrow and then we'll go from there," Wilson said. "He said he felt fine, but he only went out there for 15 minutes (actually it was closer to 35 minutes). This is a process that is going to take time. He hasn't really done anything in a month so he's fallen a little off in his conditioning. This isn't like he's going to practice tomorrow and then play on Sunday. He won't be playing for at least another week or 10 days -- if everything goes smoothly."

The Capitals possess a lot of fire power, but have clearly not been hitting on all cylinders. Alexander Ovechkin -- the face of the organization -- has been average this season, but that's all. Average by Ovechkin's standards means he is underachieving. He has seven goals (which ranks 26th in the NHL) and 14 points (47th) and has become a predictable -- and worse, stoppable -- player.

Still, one would never take him for granted. Asked if Ovechkin will be the last thing he thinks about before he falls asleep Friday night, Scrivens said, "I don't think so because then I might dream about him. I won't change my routine for the night before a game."

The deck is stacked against Toronto for Saturday's game, but nobody is about to fold their hand.

"I know from our standpoint we need to play desperate hockey," Steckel explained. "We've got a lot of injuries and guys are going to have to step up. We're going to have to put together a full 60-minute game. If you ask anybody on this team we're just focused on us and we're going to try to play the way we know we can."

"Obviously we're going to have to try to play with the same kind of energy and speed that we played with against Nashville," Wilson said. "I can't ask any more of the team under the circumstances we're in now with so many injuries. If we can give an effort like that, then we'll have a chance to win the game."

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.