Alex Ovechkin and company look for their first home victory. (Caps Outsider)
The Washington Capitals (1-0-1, 3pts) won their first game of this young 2014-2015 NHL season in an impressive 4-0 fashion Saturday night on the road against the Boston Bruins (1-2-0, 2 pts). The goals from the Capitals came from face of the franchise Alex Ovechkin (who scored the first two goals of the game), Mike Green (who made his regular season debut after missing the season opener with an upper body injury), and Joel Ward (who has had the Bruins’ number especially on the road since becoming a Capital back in 2011). This is the type of complete performance that the Caps needed in their regular season opener against the Montreal Canadiens when they went ahead 1-0 for most of the game and then conceded a late goal in the third period and eventually lost by way of a shootout. This victory was the epitome of the way new head coach Barry Trotz wants the team to play night in and night out for a full sixty minutes or even more if needed.
I was very pleased after watching the Caps put together the game they did on Saturday night against a very respected Boston team. I am also glad that the team was able to win their first road game of the season in addition to bouncing back from the heartbreaking defeat they suffered in the opener.
The Caps now return home to face the San Jose Sharks (2-0-0, 4pts) on Tuesday night at the Verizon Center. This is a very intriguing matchup for the Caps as they face a San Jose team (who has a 0.0 goals against average through their first two games with both of their goalies having played a game), as that kind of defensive reputation is one that the Capitals are looking to build towards under the system of Trotz.
My three things to watch for in this game are: 1. How will the Capitals solve the Sharks netminder whether it be Antti Niemi or Alex Stalock?, 2. Will the Caps be able to contain San Jose’s potent offensive attack that includes center Patrick Marleau to continue the defensive success they had against Boston?, and 3. What kind of wrinkles will Trotz unveil to help improve the Caps’ power play?
This game should surely be a good one as the Caps shoot for their first home win of the season and go for their second win in a row. Playing a team like the Sharks will give everyone a better idea of exactly how improved this team is from last season.
LET’S GO CAPS!!!
