(Caps Outsider)
New Caps defenseman Brenden Dillon suited up for his first game with Washington on Thursday. And though he was a -2 — on the ice for three against — in a 4-3 overtime loss to Montreal, he remained upbeat after the game.
“I think at the end of the day it’s just going to get better from here,” he said. “Another day of practice tomorrow and continue to build that chemistry.”
Dillon played 20:22 minutes, the third most on the blue line behind John Carlson and Radko Gudas. He was credited with one hit, one shot on goal, one block, one giveaway, and two takeaways. More importantly, he said he felt fairly comfortable in his first game since being traded from San Jose.
“It was good, for the first one here, I’ve had a lot going on here, just getting used to some of these new systems, new things that are a little different for me. But I think overall, the guys have been great, everybody was talking to me on the ice, to get me comfortably with things.”
And though coach Todd Reirden knew a new player wouldn’t be perfect in his first game with a new system, he said he wanted to get Dillon playing sooner rather than later so he’d be more prepared for the upcoming games against the Devils and Penguins this weekend
Dillon also had the pleasure of being on the ice for Alex Ovechkin’s 699th career goal, which Ovi scored off of a faceoff in the first period.
“Yeah I can get used to that, for sure. He’s a guy that loves to score. It doesn’t matter if it’s his first goal or 699, he’s enjoying it and he’s one of the best in the world.”
