Anthony Mantha scored the first goal of the new season. (Caps Outsider)
The Washington Capitals opened the 2022-23 season at home against a familiar Eastern Conference foe, the Boston Bruins, on Wednesday, October 12th.
The Caps got off to a rocky start, going down 3-0, until they scored twice, but were unable to complete the comeback as the Bruins got the 5-2 victory at Capital One Arena.
Boston struck first nearly eight minutes into the contest when star veteran Patrice Bergeron tipped the puck off a rebound and past new Washington goaltender Darcy Kuemper for a power play goal.
The Bruins then took a 2-0 lead later in the first period when David Pastrnak skated around the offensive zone with the puck, then spun around and fired a shot into the net for the second tally.
Six minutes into the second period, Taylor Hall tapped the puck in off an assist from Pastrnak to give Boston a commanding 3-0 lead.
However, about a minute later, Dylan Strome skated across the ice with the puck, as he passed it to Anthony Mantha who was right near the net to tap the puck past Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark for the first Capitals goal of the season.
Washington soon felt the momentum swing in their favor as Conor Sheary scored off an assist from Nic Dowd, as it became a one-goal game heading into the second intermission.
But the Caps were unable to score again, because with less than four minutes left, the Bruins sealed it when David Krejci tipped the puck in off a rebound, while Hampus Lindholm was credited with an empty-net goal two minutes later.
Mantha finished as the third star of the game with his lone tally, while Pastrnak and Krejci were named the first and second stars, respectively.
Despite the loss, Washington outshot Boston 35-30, and even finished with 48 hits compared to the visitors’ 32.
However, the Bruins were much more successful on faceoffs, winning 62.7-percent of them.
The Caps had four power play opportunities in this game, but were unsuccessful each time.
Kuemper notched 25 saves in net, despite allowing four goals in his Washington debut.
