Bruins Get First Look at Alex Ovechkin, Capitals in Difficult Early-Season Test

Tim Thomas referred to it as the Bruins going "back to a real season."

After a trip to Prague for their first two games and a week off before returning to action on Saturday in New Jersey, the Bruins finally will get some regular work this week with three games in the next five days.

That busy stretch kicks off with a home-and-home series against the Capitals, which begins in Washington on Tuesday. The Caps are coming off a monster regular season, as they piled up an NHL-best 121 points. That didn't do them much good in the playoffs as they lost to Montreal in the opening round, but the Capitals are off to another banner season with a 4-1-0 start.

That includes a 3-0 mark at home, where Washington was 30-5-6 last season. The Bruins did beat them there in the regular-season finale, and they'll be looking to notch another win in the nation's capital on Tuesday.

When and Where

Boston Bruins (2-1-0, 4 points) at Washington Capitals (4-1-0, 8 points)
Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m. (VERSUS)
Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.

Head to Head

This is the first meeting of the season between the Bruins and Capitals. Boston was just 1-2-1 against Washington last year, posting its only win in the regular-season finale, a 4-3 victory in a shootout to avoid the sweep. The Bruins still hold a 69-36-21-5 edge in the all-time series.

Goaltending Matchup

Tuukka Rask led the NHL in both goals-against average (1.97) and save percentage (.931) last season, but it's Tim Thomas who has been the story so far this year. After an injury-plagued season and offseason hip surgery, Thomas appears to be regaining his Vezina form of two years ago. He's 2-0-0 with a 0.50 GAA and a .980 save percentage, stopping 60 of the 61 shots he's faced while starting the last two games. Rask lost the season opener in Prague to Phoenix, allowing four goals on 36 shots.

For Washington, Michael Neuvirth has played every minute of the first five games, posting a 4-1-0 record with a 2.16 GAA and a .930 save percentage. Neuvirth has had such a heavy workload because Semyon Varlamov was sidelined with a groin injury to start the season. He returned this weekend and dressed as the backup on Saturday, and should start sharing the workload with Neuvirth soon.

Stat Sheet

Bruins

• Bruins rookies have scored their first NHL goals in each of the last two games, with Tyler Seguin netting his first last Sunday in Prague and Jordan Caron tallying his first Saturday against the Devils. That leaves Brad Marchand, who is still officially a rookie after playing just 20 games with the big club last year, as the lone Boston rookie left without a goal. He's now at 23 games and counting without his first one, but he has been creating plenty of chances this year and could be due for his milestone moment.
• Through three games, no Bruin has been charged with more than one giveaway. Boston has just nine total giveaways in three games, one each by nine different players. The Bruins also have nine takeaways, with Matt Hunwick, Michael Ryder and Milan Lucic each credited with a pair.
• Only three Bruins forwards who have dressed remain without a point so far this season. Daniel Paille is not a shock since he has been a scratch the last two games, but the other two names are a bit more of a surprise. Blake Wheeler remains without a point and didn't even have a shot on Saturday, while Patrice Bergeron also remains stuck on zero. Bergeron led the Bruins with 52 points last year and has 2-1-3 totals in three preseason games, plus a five-point outburst in an exhibition against Liberec in the Czech Republic. He has yet to carry that production over to the regular season.

Capitals

• Washington is a perfect 21-for-21 on the penalty kill so far this season. That's not good news for the Bruins' power play, which is just 1-for-11 this season.
• The Capitals have been slow starters this season, with just three goals in the first period. But they've made up for lost time with six in the second, six in the third and two goals in overtime. Washington rallied from two goals down in the third to Nashville to win 3-2 in overtime on Saturday, beat the Islanders 2-1 on a goal at 16:21 of the third and beat Ottawa 3-2 in overtime.
• Washington has struggled in the faceoff circle, winning just 45.9 percent of its draws (131-159). That ranks the Capitals 27th in the league. Rookie center Marcus Johansson is the primary culprit, going just 11-for-24 (31.4 percent), but Tomas Fleischmann (19-for-35, 35.2 percent) and Boyd Gordon (25-for-31, 44.6 percent) haven't helped much either.

Infirmary Report

Bruins

• Center Marc Savard (post-concussion syndrome) is out indefinitely.
• Left wing Marco Sturm (knee surgery) is expected to be out until at least November.
• Center Trent Whitfield (ruptures Achilles) could miss the entire year.

Capitals

• Defenseman Mike Green (upper body) is listed as day-to-day and questionable for Tuesday's game.
• Defenseman Tom Poti (lower body) is listed as day-to-day and questionable for Tuesday's game.
• Defenseman John Carlson (lower body) is questionable for Tuesday's game after being hurt blocking a shot Saturday against Nashville.
• Forward Matt Bradley (lower body) is listed as day-to-day and questionable for Tuesday's game.

Familiar Faces

Forward Mike Knuble had a successful run with the Bruins from 2000-04, seeing time on the top line with Joe Thornton and Glen Murray. Matt Henricks never made it up to Boston but did play the 2007-08 season in Providence before being traded to Colorado for Johnny Boychuk. Goalie Dany Sabourin was in the Bruins' system last year before signing with Washington this summer. He was up with the Capitals while Varlamov was injured but has since been returned to the AHL affiliate in Hershey. Poti hails from Worcester, Mass., and played at Boston University, while Carlson was born in Natick, Mass.

Fight Card

The Capitals had just 20 fighting majors all of last year but already have five in five games this season. Bradley, Green, Hendricks, Jason Chimera and D.J. King each have one. King is the new resident heavyweight and he took on Shawn Thornton in the preseason, but he has dressed for just one game in the regular season. Greg Campbell has Boston's only fight this year and also fought Hendricks in the preseason. Last year's four-game series produced just one fight, with Thornton battling John Erskine in the Bruins' home opener.

Outlook

The Bruins have plenty of momentum after solid wins over Phoenix and New Jersey, outscoring those clubs 7-1 in those two games. But the Capitals are even hotter, winning four straight after dropping their opener to Atlanta. Washington has outscored its opponents 15-7 in those wins and has been getting contributions from throughout its talented lineup. Alex Ovechkin, not surprisingly, leads the way with 4-4-8 totals, while Carlson (1-5-6), Brooks Laich (3-2-5) and Alexander Semin (2-3-5) are also red hot. The Bruins will face a mighty challenge to push their win streak to three in this one.