TORONTO - Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier couldn't catch a break Saturday night.

When he finally steadied himself, the Washington Capitals had done too much damage.

Bernier, given an opportunity with regular starter James Reimer out with a lower-body injury, was denied his first win of the season as the Capitals extended their winning streak to five games with a 4-2 victory.

Washington's first goal was a knuckler, its second came after an ugly miscue and the third was of the pinball variety. Bernier had no chance on a Justin Williams snapshot that put the game out of reach just past the midway point of the second period.

Fair or not, he'll be an easy target for criticism as Toronto's losing skid hit three games. He did not look sharp after going almost two weeks between starts and his positional play was suspect at times.

Rust may have been a factor, but Bernier was simply not up to the task and his head coach was not impressed with the overall performance.

"You can't give up four in the National Hockey League and win," said Mike Babcock. "It's just impossible. We've got to find a way to win games. It didn't work in that area tonight. We've got to find a way to bounce back, to not lose energy and to get back playing."

Jason Chimera floated a rolling puck past Bernier to open the scoring at 3:43. The Maple Leafs answered when Peter Holland one-timed a rebound past Washington netminder Braden Holtby at 6:13.

Toronto outshot the Capitals 16-4 in the opening stanza. Washington looked flat early in the second game of a back-to-back but the Capitals upped their energy in the second period.

A few minutes in, Maple Leafs blue-liner Morgan Rielly overskated the puck as he was about to take it behind the net. Washington right-winger Tom Wilson took advantage by sliding it between Bernier's legs at 4:06 for his first goal of the season, deflating the crowd of 19,053.

Leo Komarov pulled Toronto even as he tipped Dion Phaneuf's one-timer from the point at 6:26. It was his eighth goal of the campaign.

The Washington power play helped put the Capitals ahead to stay moments later. Alex Ovechkin fired a shot that deflected off Roman Polak's stick and then Marcus Johansson's knee before finding the net at 11:08 and a Williams snapshot froze Bernier at 13:26.

"Sometimes it's real tough for those goaltenders," said Capitals head coach Barry Trotz. "We didn't have a lot of shots and it's hard for a goalie mentally. He wants to grab the puck and get some action and we didn't really give him any early."

The Air Canada Centre crowd let out a Bronx cheer after Bernier's next save. He fell to 0-8-1 on the campaign with a 3.28 goals-against average and .888 save percentage.

"I've got to be better," said Bernier.

The Capitals improved to 7-2-0 on the road and 17-5-1 overall. Toronto, currently last in the Eastern Conference standings, fell to 3-5-3 at home and 7-11-5 on the season.

The Maple Leafs, well-rested after a five-day break, pressed early in the third period but Holtby was up to the task. Toronto hit the post twice on a power play midway through the frame but couldn't cut into the lead.

"We just weren't good enough consistently for 60 minutes," said Phaneuf. "I don't think much more needs to be said."

The Maple Leafs outshot the Capitals 33-23 on the night.

Reimer, who was injured last Tuesday at practice, was back on the ice Friday but didn't participate in the game-day skate on Saturday. It wasn't clear if he'd be ready to return for Monday's home game against the Edmonton Oilers.

Notes: Holland has four goals on the season while Chimera hiked his total to seven. ... Reimer is 7-3-4 with a 2.01 goals-against average and .936 save percentage this season. ... Toronto called up netminder Garret Sparks from its AHL affiliate earlier in the day to serve as a backup. Defenceman Scott Harrington was sent down to the Marlies.

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