McMichael helps the Capitals beat the Maple Leafs 3-1 for franchise-record 8th straight road win

TORONTO (AP) — Connor McMichael scored in the third period, and the Washington Capitals beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 on Friday night for their franchise-record eighth consecutive road win.

Nic Dowd had a goal and an assist for Washington, which has won five of six overall. Aliaksei Protas had an empty-net goal, and Charlie Lindgren made 20 saves.

The Capitals have outscored their opponents 42-18 during their road win streak.

John Tavares scored for Toronto, and Anthony Stolarz stopped 23 shots.

The Leafs, who had won 10 of 12, lost at Scotiabank Arena for the first time since Nov. 13. They have the NHL’s best home record at 12-4-0.

Washington captain Alex Ovechkin skated in full gear before Thursday’s practice — just 2 1/2 weeks after breaking his left fibula.

Maple Leafs: Chris Tanev picked up his seventh point of the season when the defenseman sent a stretch pass to Tavares for a second-period breakaway that tied it at 1.

Capitals: Entered Friday as the NHL’s top offensive club with an average of 4.08 goals per game, but they won with defense against Toronto.

McMichael snapped a 1-1 tie at 9:51 on a scramble in front after a clearing attempt by Leafs captain Auston Matthews hit the referee behind Toronto’s net. It was McMichael's 15th goal this season.

Washington defensemen have 72 points this season, which trails only the Colorado Avalanche (75) for the most in the NHL.

The Capitals visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. The Maple Leafs visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (91) scores against Washington Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren, front right, during second-period NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)dian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Matthew Knies (23) eyes the puck in front of the net during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024 in Toronto. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) skates with the puck away from Washington Capitals center Connor McMichael (24) during first-period NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) reacts to the referee during first-period NHL hockey game action against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) skates with the puck against the Washington Capitals during second-period NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals center Aliaksei Protas (21) skates with the puck away from Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) during third-period NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals centerAliaksei Protas (21) and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev (8) battle for the puck during third-period NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals center Connor McMichael (24) celebrates his goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024 in Toronto. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

Washington Capitals center Connor McMichael (24) celebrates after his goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during third-period NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

The Native American Church is considered the most widespread religious movement among the Indigenous people of North America. It holds sacred the peyote cactus, which grows naturally only in some parts of southern Texas and northern Mexico. Peyote has been used spiritually in ceremonies, and as a medicine by Native American people for millennia.

It contains several psychoactive compounds, primarily mescaline, which is a hallucinogen. Different tribes of peyote people have their own name for the cactus. While it is still a controlled substance, U.S. laws passed in 1978 and 1994 allow Native Americans to use, harvest and transport peyote. However, these laws only allow federally recognized Native American tribes to use the substance and don't apply to the broader group of Indigenous people in the US.

The Native American Church developed into a distinct way of life around 1885 among the Kiowa and Comanche of Oklahoma. After 1891, it began to spread as far north as Canada. Now, more than 50 tribes and 400,000 people practice it. In general, the peyotist doctrine espouses belief in one supreme God who deals with humans through various spirits that then carry prayers to God. In many tribes, the peyote plant itself is a deity, personified as Peyote Spirit.

The Native American Church is not one unified entity like, say, the Catholic Church. It contains a diversity of tribes, beliefs and practices. Peyote is what unifies them. After peyote was banned by U.S. government agents in 1888 and later by 15 states, Native American tribes began incorporating as individual Native American Churches in 1918. In order to preserve the peyote ceremony, the federal and state governments encouraged Native American people to organize as a church, said Darrell Red Cloud, the great-great grandson of Chief Red Cloud of the Lakota Nation and vice president of the Native American Church of North America.

In the following decades, the religion grew significantly, with several churches bringing Jesus Christ’s name and image into the church so their congregations and worship would be accepted, said Steve Moore, who is non-Native and is an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund.

“Local religious leaders in communities would see the image of Jesus, a Bible or cross on the wall of the meeting house or tipi and they would hear references to Jesus in the prayers or songs,” he said. “That probably helped persuade the authorities that the Native people were in the process of transformation to Christianity.”

This persecution of peyote people continued even after the formation of the Native American Church, said Frank Dayish Jr. a former Navajo Nation vice president and chairperson for the Council of the Peyote Way of Life Coalition.

In the 1960s, there were laws prohibiting peyote in the Navajo Nation, he said. Dayish remembers a time during that period when police confiscated peyote from his church, poured gasoline on the plants and set them on fire.

“I remember my dad and other relatives went over and saved the green peyote that didn’t burn,” he said, adding that it took decades of lobbying until an amendment to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1994 permitted members of federally recognized Native American tribes to use peyote for religious purposes.

Peyote is the central part of a ceremony that takes place in a tipi around a crescent-shaped earthen altar mound and a sacred fire. The ceremony typically lasts all night and includes prayer, singing, the sacramental eating of peyote, water rites and spiritual contemplation.

Morgan Tosee, a member of the Comanche Nation who leads ceremonies within the Comanche Native American Church, said peyote is utilized in the context of prayer — not smoked — as many tend to imagine.

“When we use it, we either eat it dry or grind it up,” he said. “Sometimes, we make tea out of it. But, we don’t drink it like regular tea. You pray with it and take little sips, like you would take medicine."

Tosee echoes the belief that pervades the church: "If you take care of the peyote, it will take care of you.”

“And if you believe in it, it will heal you,” he said, adding that he has seen the medicine work, healing people with various ailments.

People treat the trip to harvest peyote as a pilgrimage, said Red Cloud. Typically, prayers and ceremonies take place before the pilgrimage to seek blessings for a good journey. Once they get to the peyote gardens, they would touch the ground and thank the Creator before harvesting the medicine. The partaking of peyote is also accompanied by prayer and ceremony. The mescaline in the peyote plant is viewed as God's spirit, Red Cloud said.

“Once we eat it, the sacredness of the medicine is inside of us and it opens the spiritual eye,” he said. “From there, we start to see where the medicine is growing. It shows itself to us. Once we complete the harvest, we bring it back home and have another ceremony to the medicine and give thanks to the Creator.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The property of the late Amada Cardenas, who was one of the first federally licensed peyote dealers, alongside her husband, to harvest and sell the sacramental plant to followers of the Native American Church, in Mirando City, Texas, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)