TORONTO - Nazem Kadri recorded the fifth hat trick of his career and added an assist as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Washington Capitals 6-3 on Wednesday night.

Auston Matthews, who snapped the second-longest goal drought of his career, Nikita Zaitsev and Mitch Marner, into an empty net, also scored for Toronto (30-17-2). William Nylander added three assists, while Morgan Rielly and Connor Brown had two each. Frederik Andersen stopped 41 shots for the win.

The Leafs came in having lost two straight, five of six at Scotiabank Arena -- including four in a row -- and seven of their last 10 overall.

Nicklas Backstrom, with a goal and an assist, Alex Ovechkin and Matt Niskanen replied for Washington (27-17-6), which was playing for the third time in four nights and lost its seventh consecutive game.

Braden Holtby, who had allowed 11 goals on his last 54 shots against coming into Wednesday, finished with 31 saves. T.J. Oshie added two assists.

With his goal in the second period, Ovechkin tied Sergei Fedorov for top spot all-time among Russian-born players with 1,179 points.