Bruins Come Out Flat Opening Night, Fall to Capitals 4-1

It was the opening game of the 2009-10 NHL season, a season after Boston posted the best record in the Eastern Conference. But it was the Washington Capitals who played like world beaters on Thursday night, bopping the Bruins 4-1 at the TD Garden.

Alexander Ovechkin led the way for the Caps, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Teammate Brooks Laich had two goals and an assist of his own, while Nicklas Backstrom's three assists and Alexander Semin's two helpers were also big for Washington. Jose Theodore was also solid, making 19 saves in net for the Capitals.

Patrice Bergeron scored the lone Bruins goal in the opener, beating Theodore on a slick move in front of the net with 12:04 remaining in the third period. Boston's reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas made 30 saves in net, but was beaten four times by Ovechkin and Co.

Capitals 4, Bruins 1
TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
October 1, 2009

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Headliner: Simply put, the Capitals' top line of Alex Ovechkin, Brooks Laich and Nicklas Backstrom (or occasionally Alexander Semin) were in control of this game from beginning to end.

Laich scored on the power play in the first period, with Ovechkin and Backstrom assisting. Ovie flew down the left flank to score in the second with Semin and Backstrom getting the helpers. Laich then scored again early in the third on a rebound tip-in with Backstrom and Semin assisting. Then just 1:40 later, it was Ovechkin again beating Milan Lucic to a pass in front of Thomas' net and hammering it home for what was then a 4-0 lead.

On the night, Ovechkin led the way with two goals and an assist, Laich posted two goals and an assist of his own, Backstrom had three assists and Semin added two helpers.

Grinder: Give a lot of credit to Bruins forward David Krejci. Coming off hip surgery four months ago, he was considered a question mark, possibly for the first two months of the season. But he hurried his recovery to make it back for Thursday's opener, and he played as gutty a game as any Bruin out there, racing to 50-50 pucks and hustling back on defense.

He tied for the team lead with two shots on goal and got an impressive amount of ice time, 17:24, which was third most among Bruins forwards.

Weak Link: The Bruins' defense was pretty dreadful, but it's goalie Tim Thomas who comes out looking the worst. The 2009 Vezina winner allowed four goals on 34 shots. It would be unfair to blame Thomas for any of the goals … and to be fair, Thomas stood on his head to keep the Caps' goal tally at four, but it's still not the kind of performance coach Claude Julien was hoping for out of his star netminder to begin the season.

Key Moment: Up 1-0 in the second period, Theodore made several solid saves to keep the Bruins, who seemed to be gaining momentum, at bay.

Then, the Caps took control of the puck in the B's zone. On the right-hand boards, Backstrom dished to Semin, who stood more or less still at the top of the slot between the circles. Semin made a slick backhanded pass to Ovechkin, who was streaking down the left side of the ice. The two-time Hart Trophy winner wristed it past Thomas with 10:29 remaining to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead they would never relinquish.

What's Next: After the B's opening-night loss at the TD Garden, Julien's team will remain at home for its next four games. Next up on Saturday night are the Carolina Hurricanes, who begin their 2009-10 campaign Friday night at home against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Bruins went 4-0 against the ‘Canes in the 2008-09 regular season, outscoring them 18-6 and limiting them to 1-for-15 effectiveness on the power play.

But their playoff matchup was a different story, with the sixth-seeded Hurricanes upsetting the top-seeded Bruins, winning Game 7 in Boston 3-2 in overtime on a remarkable tip-in goal from Scott Walker. Walker was already a marked man in Beantown for a sucker punch in Game 5 of the series that broke a bone in the face of then-Bruin Aaron Ward. Ward is a teammate of Walker's in Carolina now, and the two have reportedly become close friends, but the Bruins will still be looking for payback.

During the regular season, David Krejci had seven points (three goals, four assists) in the four victories over Carolina last year. Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder each posted three goals of their own against the ‘Canes. Tim Thomas allowed just 1.33 goals a night in going 3-0 in those games, while former backup Manny Fernandez allowed two goals in his win.

Carolina netminder Cam Ward took all four losses against the Bruins last season, allowing 3.89 goals a game and posting just an .871 save percentage. He'll have to bounce back to give his team a chance on Saturday.

In addition to Ward, Saturday night will also mark the return to Boston of former Bruin Sergei Samsonov.