The numbers were staring the Maple Leafs in the face like a 2-0 deficit.

Alex Ovechkin entered Friday night's matchup with 28 points in 18 NHL games against Toronto. And the Washington Capitals had outscored opponents 9-0 in the first minute of all periods this season.

Make it a perfect 10 after Ovechkin beat Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala 49 seconds after the opening faceoff in Washington, the first of his five points in a 6-1 drubbing at the Verizon Center.

The 24-year-old Russian star went on to set up a pair of goals by linemate Mike Knuble, and one each by Eric Fehr and Tomas Fleischmann for his first-ever four-assist game in the NHL.

"Just lucky moments," Ovechkin said. "We got a lot of chances; I was there."

Ovechkin loves scoring goals. But regardless of who puts the puck in the net, he will celebrate just the same.

"He enjoys the team scoring goals," Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Whether he gets an assist or whether he gets nothing, when the team does well, he does well."

The five-point performance gives Ovechkin 18 goals and 32 points in 19 contests versus the Leafs. And with 61 points on the season, he closed to within three points of NHL scoring leader Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks.

Two-time reigning MVP

Ovechkin, the league's two-time reigning MVP, has never collected six points in a game.

Friday's effort was his first five-point game of the season after recording three points on nine occasions, including twice against Toronto on Oct. 3 and Dec. 12.

The Maple Leafs have struggled to score this season, but on this night the blame lay on the defence, which was powerless against Ovechkin and the Capitals.

"It just shows their skill level. They scored on just about every chance they had," Toronto head coach Ron Wilson said.

Leafs forward Jamal Mayers said, "Obviously, we gave [Ovechkin] too much time and space. He's one of the most dynamic players in the league, and if we give him that much time, then he's going to make a play."

Ovechkin had endured his least productive stretch of the season leading into Friday's contest, with three goals in eight games.

But he wasted little time erasing that memory by putting the Leafs in a 1-0 hole for the 35th time in 49 starts this season with his 29th goal of the campaign.

Entering the Toronto zone uncovered, Ovechkin buried a drop-pass from Nicklas Backstrom past Vesa Toskala, who was fresh off a 4-0 shutout of Philadelphia less than 24 hours earlier.

Ovie breaks stick, gets assist

Later in the first period, Ovechkin broke his stick on a slapshot just inside the visitors blue-line and watched as Fehr redirected the slow-moving puck for his 12th goal of the season to match a career high set last season.

It marked the 24th time this season the Leafs have trailed 2-0. They have also been outscored 50-29 in the first period.

Ovechkin helped extend the Washington lead to 3-0 at 4:03 of the second period by taking a pass off his left skate and sliding a pass to Knuble, who stopped his own shot with his skate before poking the puck across the goal-line.

Knuble added his second goal of the game, his fifth in as many outings, less than three minutes later with Toronto tough guy Jay Rosehill serving a tripping penalty. It was Knuble's 12th of the season and the Capitals' NHL-leading 44th on the power play this season.

Fleischmann's goal also came with the man-advantage, the 16th time this season the Leafs' 30th-ranked penalty kill has allowed two or more goals in a game.

Tom Poti also scored for Washington, which has won eight of its past nine at home and 15 overall this season (15-3-3). At 29-12-6, the Southeast Division-leading Capitals will play six of their next eight games at Verizon Center.

Defenceman Tomas Kaberle, who was victimized on Ovechkin's goal, spoiled Jose Theodore's shutout bid at 18:37 of the second period with a power-play marker. Theodore finished with 28 saves.

The 16-24-9 Maple Leafs, who have lost five of six overall and five straight on the road, are off until Monday when they visit the Nashville Predators in a 7 p.m. CT start.

With files from The Associated Press