This Date in Caps History - December 15

On December 15, 1974, the Capitals recorded just the third win of their 31-game history with a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A Capital Centre crowd of 17,500 witnessed the team's second win over an Original Six club; the Caps beat Chicago on October 17, 1974 for the first win in franchise history. After a 6-4 win over the California Golden Seals on November 19, Washington endured an 11-game winless streak (0-9-2) before topping Toronto.

Toronto outshot the Caps by a 9-4 count in the first period, and the Leafs' Ron Ellis scored the period's only goal when he beat Washington netminder Ron Low at the 18:46 mark. Mike Bloom tied the game for Washington at 17:21 of the second.

Washington came out flying in the third, outshooting the Leafs by a 17-7 margin. The Caps' total of 17 shots ties a single-period team mark set weeks earlier in Minnesota. The Capitals' offensive efforts paid dividends at 8:22 of the third when Paul Nicholson put a puck past Toronto's Dunc Wilson. The Caps iced the victory when Jim Hrycuik scored at 12:32 to give Washington a 3-1 advantage.

Low stopped 25 of 26 shots to earn the victory, his third. Hrycuik had a goal and an assist. The victory left Washington with a 3-24-4 ledger.