Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals opened the preseason with a 2-1 shootout loss against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Sunday afternoon. 

Capitals’ Lines at Bruins

Caps’ preseason Game 1 roster this afternoon in Boston #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/vD2k3JpNyK

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 16, 2018

Goaltender Pheonix Copley played the first half of the game while Vitek Vanecek took the other half. Most of the Bruins’ players went to China for an exhibition set against the Calgary Flames. The Caps dressed an inexperienced lineup for their preseason opener.

First Period

Defenseman Tyler Lewington scrapped in front of the net with Zach Senyshyn 4:33 into the game. Lewington got the takedown.

Tyler Lewington doesn’t waste any time with the early fight in the preseason! pic.twitter.com/80NXwFTNWw

— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) September 16, 2018

Jakub Lauko sniped a puck through Copley’s legs from the slot after getting it between two Capitals’ defenseman following a blocked shot by Washington to give Boston a 1-0 lead with 2:59 left in the first.

The Capitals had only three giveaways to the Bruins’ seven.

The Bruins led 14-7 in shots, 6-3 in takeaways, and 10-9 in hits through 20 minutes of play. Boston won 55% of the faceoffs in the first period. They went 0-for-1 on the power play.

Each team had three blocked shots.

Second Period

Vanecek replaced Copley with 7:55 left in the period. Copley stopped 21 of 22 shots faced.

Brett Connolly tied the game on a nice give-and-go with Christian Djoos in the offensive zone. Djoos found Connolly in the slot and Connolly zipped one high glove side on Bruins’ goaltender Zane MacIntyre with 2:35 left in the second.

Right under the bar #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/wwdBWpG7fV

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 16, 2018

The Capitals led the Bruins 18-15 in hits, 7-4 in blocked shots, and 8-6 in takeaways. The Capitals only had six giveaways while the Bruins had six.

The Bruins led 25-11 in shots, including 11-4 in the middle frame. Boston won 53% of the faceoffs during the first two periods.

Both teams went scoreless on the power play through 40 minutes. The Capitals had one opportunity while the Bruins had two.

Third Period

The Capitals led the Bruins 21-19 in hits, 9-6 in blocked shots, and 11-7 in takeaways. The Capitals only had seven giveaways while the Bruins had ten.

The Bruins led 33-17 in shots, including 8-6 in the third period. Boston won 55% of the faceoffs.

Both teams didn’t score a power play goal. The Capitals had one power play while the Bruins had four.

Overtime

The Capitals got a power play with 3:13 left in overtime. Bruins’ center Ryan Fitzgerald got called for tripping on Andre Burakovsky. The Bruins also got called for too many men with 2:08 left. Washington got 55 seconds of 5-on-3 power play time but could not convert.

The Capitals outshot the Bruins 5-1 in overtime but Boston led 34-22 in the game.

Vanacek stopped 12 shots while MacIntyre halted 21 that came his way.

The game would go to a shootout.

Shootout

Lauko went first for the Bruins. He faked out Vanacek and beat him with a wide open net.

Burakovsky was denied by MacIntyre

Copley stopped David Krejci with a right pad extension.

Djoos missed the net in the second round.

Copley shut down the five-hole on Lauko.

Vrana missed trying to pull a Forsberg move on MacIntyre.

The Bruins would win 2-1.

Final Stats

Shots:                     Capitals – 22             Bruins – 34

Hits:                       Capitals – 22              Bruins – 21

Blocked Shots:     Capitals – 12              Bruins – 7

Faceoffs:               Capitals – 44%           Bruins – 56%

Game Highlights

The Bruins follow the Capitals back home for a rematch on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena. The game can be seen on NBC Sports Washington at 7 PM.

By Harrison Brown