Capitals hockey is finally back, and the team now sits 2-0-0 after a back-to-back with the Buffalo Sabres to open the season. This was the team’s first action since getting bounced by the New York Islanders in the 2020 postseason.
A sluggish, frustrating performance in the NHL bubble led to a lot of questions surrounding the direction of the franchise and resulted in several big changes, most notably the hiring of Peter Laviolette as head coach and the departure of Braden Holtby (although the latter was expected even before the bubble).
It was clear this offseason that this team needed some energy added to the forward lines, some reinforcements added to the defense and better leadership added to the locker room. GM Brian MacLellan aimed to address all of those in the offseason, and through two games, it has showed.
While the Buffalo Sabres have been spiraling as an organization, the team boasts a handful of world-class talents, including (but not limited to) superstar Jack Eichel, 2018 first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin and newly acquired Taylor Hall, a former Hart Trophy winner.
This MassMutual East Division should be the most competitive in the league, but the Capitals have showed they will be in the mix for the top spot. Here are some major takeaways from the first two games.
The boys are juiced up
The Caps have been starting seasons on a high note in recent years; they haven’t lost their season-opener since 2016, and that did not change this year. It wasn’t all perfect as the team nearly lost the 4-1 lead they had built, and were ultimately gifted the game-winner, but the energy was markedly different from the bubble.
Of course, first-game adrenaline will fire any team up across the league, so it’s too early to determine whether this will carry over through most of the season, but Laviolette has a reputation for holding everyone accountable and hopefully won’t let the energy slip.
And with the new postgame headgear award ritual Laviolette has established this year, you can already tell the locker room is jelling nicely:
Samsonov showed his youth
Ilya Samsonov is the man in net for the Caps this season, and the team will need him to build off his promising 26-game performance last season if there’s any hope of getting further in the postseason. We have awhile until the postseason talk starts up, but for now, Samsonov looks like he needs a little time to settle into the season.
He made a handful of terrific saves down the stretch, but he did look a little lost at times. There were also a handful of moments where he was playing really far out from the net, which has always been a tendency of his and can lead to some costly opportunities for the opposing team. No one could have expected him to look like a superstar right away, but his performance will be the biggest X-Factor for this team down the stretch.
Vanecek gets off to a good start
Looking at the other goaltender, Vitek Vanecek shined in his NHL debut, making 30 saves in the team’s 2-1 win in the second game. The 25-year-old had to fend off five Buffalo power play chances and was successful in all of them.
You can’t make a season-long prediction off of just one game, but Vanecek has already proven himself to be among the best AHL netminders over the past two years, and has wasted no time getting it done on the NHL level. It’ll be Samsonov and Vanecek holding down the fort all season, and if this first weekend is any indication, this could be a winning tandem in DC.
The usual suspects are producing up front
The Caps have the oldest roster in the league, but those old guys are still getting it done to start the year. The very first point of the season was an Alex Ovechkin assist to Nicklas Backstrom, and TJ Oshie scored three points in the first game. John Carlson, who was on a torrent scoring pace last season and should follow up by scoring at a similar clip, added a goal and assist as well.
Tom Wilson did not get on the score sheet in the opener, but notched an assist and the winning goal in the second game. Jakub Vrana, who had been dealing with a scoring drought to end last season took advantage of a poor play from Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner to net his first goal since Feb. 25 and his first point since March 7. He scored again the following night to give himself two goals in two games.
Evgeny Kuznetsov hasn’t scored a point yet, but with the rest of the top six already going strong, he should be following suit in due time. These younger guys will all need to step up their production if this team wants to reach the Cup Final again.
The third line is falling into place
If Samsonov is the biggest X-Factor this season, the third line isn’t far behind. Depth scoring was a major issue down the stretch last season, but it was one of the biggest strengths in the 2018 Cup run, so that depth needs to be rediscovered this season.
Lars Eller is back centering the third line, and while Richard Panik is starting out on the third line again this year after being demoted to the fourth line earlier last season, two new faces in Conor Sheary and Daniel Sprong will be relied on to add an extra spark to the bottom six.
Sheary and Eller registered assists on Brenden Dillon’s goal in the season-opener, and while they didn’t get on the score sheet in the second game, look fairly solid. It took awhile for last year’s third line of Carl Hagelin-Eller-Panik to establish chemistry and it ultimately didn’t work out, so to see this new third line starting to produce right away is a good sign.
Discipline needs to improve
There’s only so much you can take away from two games against an admittedly weaker opponent, but starting 2-0-0 is the best you can ask for. Still, if there’s any nitpicks, the biggest has to be in the penalty department.
All great teams need to be physical, but that physicality can have consequences. The Caps allowed the Sabres eight power play chances through two games. The penalty kill fared pretty well, but committing that many penalties should not be a trend that continues.
It’s a fine line to walk, because playing too carefully will diminish that physicality, but as the guys get further into game shape, it should become more manageable.
Cover Photo Credit: Jeffrey T. Barnes/Associated Press
The Wildcard 