Off Wing Opinion

There was a lot to cheer about during the home opener. Photo by Pete Silver.

You could be forgiven if after one period of tonight's game between the Caps and Devils if you were wondering if the home team was ever going to get its act together and start playing hockey again. 

Heading into the locker room after one period the Caps were staring at a 2-1 deficit. To be charitable, they had just played their fourth straight period of lackluster ice hockey, and this time they were doing it against a team best known for taking care of business in their own end in front of a goalie bound for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Fast-forward just one period later, and everything seemed right with the world again after the Caps scored four goals on just eight shots on their way to a 7-2 win.  In the process, they chased Devils goalie Martin Brodeur and shamed a historically disciplined Devils team into gooning things up in the last five minutes of the game. 

The end of the third period was most entertaining, as it included a sequence of four fights that began with Devils winger Ilya Kovalchuk dropping the gloves with Mike Green, and ended with Devils winger Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond jumping Caps rookie Marcus Johansson.

Some thoughts:

• After the game, head coach Bruce Boudreau told the press that Alex Ovechkin took a lot of heat as the coaching staff reviewed the video tape from Friday night's 4-2 loss to Atlanta. Ovechkin clearly took it to heart, tallying three points on two goals and an assist, including scoring on a penalty shot where he beat a lunging Brodeur to his glove side.

• Alexander Semin continues to impress, using his stick handling skills in close quarters to keep plays alive in the offensive zone—never more so than when his hard work behind the Devils net in the second period led to a Tomas Fleischmann goal that tied the game 2-2.

• After having a brutal first period where one of his giveaways led directly to a Devils goal, rookie Marcus Johansson settled down and started flashing some of the skill that led the coaching staff to keep him on the big club instead of sending him down to Hershey. He even got to be the center of attention late in the game when he twice refused to fight Letourneau-Leblond, but got mugged anyway.

• The Caps were perfect on the penalty kill, killing four Devils opportunities on the night.  But the unit had its best moment at even strength when moments after a penalty to Jason Chimera expired, Fleischmann hit him with a pass as he popped out of the penalty box.  Chimera streaked in alone on right wing and put a wrist shot past Brodeur to stretch the lead to 4-2.

• Fleischmann has taken a lot of heat from Caps fans, but he's made the most of his first two games centering the second line, posting a goal and a pair of assists in two games. Despite the points, Fleischmann still doesn't seem to have what it takes to win battles along the boards, but you can't deny his skill, especially not after the tape to tape pass that sprung Chimera.

• Defenseman John Carlson continues to look like he belongs nowhere else but in the National Hockey League, getting Washington's first goal and adding a pair of assists. It was the first multi-point game of his career.
   
• Michael Neuvirth got his first win of the season and kept the game close while his teammates were stripping their gears in the first period.  But Neuvirth's best work probably came in the second period when he turned aside 17 Devils shots. If the Caps care about their goalie, they'll start doing a better job in their own zone, lest the rookie get overwhelmed.

• The close of the game was simply bizarre. With the game already over at 7-2, Kovalchuk sought to put a charge into his teammates by challenging Mike Green to a fight. Not much was solved as the two twirled for a few moments before both falling to the ice, but the Devils bench took it as a signal to ride to the sound of the guns.

• Next up were Matt Hendricks and Rod Pelley, a pair that fought to an unsatisfying draw. The third tilt featured Matt Bradley against Devils tough guy David Clarkson. Bradley, who had been on the wrong end of a few beatings last season brought the home crowd to its feet when he took down Clarkson with a solid right.

All in all, it was just the sort of night the team needed to wash away memories of a dog of a season opener.

POSTSCRIPT: New Jersey defenseman Anton Volchenkov was struck in the face shield by a Nicklas Backstrom slap shot in the first period. The shot broke Volchenkov's nose and sent him to the locker room bleeding.  Later, the Devils reported that Volchenkov required eight stitches to close the wound, but that he still expects to play in their next game on Monday.