Ryan Leonard laughs at Tony DeAngelo after he appears to challenge Capitals rookie to fight
Two days after authoring a game-winning assist against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ryan Leonard was a menace in a physical way against the New York Islanders.
Channeling his inner Matthew Tkachuk, Leonard managed to get under the skin of several players on the New York Islanders during the Washington Capitals’ 4-1 victory.
His first sandpaper-y moment came with Tony DeAngelo in the first period, per a video from @capsf1sh. As Leonard threw a shot on goal, the Islanders defenseman came in to try to land a big hit. Leonard, though, got his arms up and threw DeAngelo to the ice with authority. He then added insult to injury by trying to keep the defenseman on the ice by putting both knees on his back.
A few seconds later, Leonard let DeAngelo up and then gave him another shove for good measure. Tony D didn’t appear to like this much, so he gave the grinning Leonard a two-hand shove to the chest, appearing to fall for the Capitals winger’s trap of trying to draw a retaliatory penalty. (There were no calls on the play, however.)
DeAngelo then squared up with Leonard and began shaking his gloves — usually the signal that a player is itching for a fight — but Leonard met that consternation with laughter and disinterest. What an instigator Leno is.
Leonard also got attention on social media for a netfront battle he had with 2025 first overall pick Matthew Schaefer, who was without a stick. The two players shoved each other before Leonard slashed the Islanders’ defenseman in the left calf. Schaefer then dove towards Leonard as he received the puck and hauled him down, earning a tripping penalty.
Leonard managed to be a game-changer with his hands, too. Freshly installed on the first power-play unit, the 20-year-old winger snapped a perfect cross-ice pass to Alex Ovechkin in the left circle. With everyone expecting Ovi to shoot, he sent a pass to Tom Wilson at the side of the net, who deflected the puck past goaltender Ilya Sorokin.
The apple was Leonard’s third point in the last four games. He’s drawn a team-leading 14 penalties on the year.
Over the last few weeks, the pieces have begun to come together in Leonard’s game and with more consistency, too. Under the incredible tutelage of Spencer Carbery, Leonard is starting to show he can be a game-breaker in the NHL, even though he hasn’t scored with regularity yet.
