Photo: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

The Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins will each play their first game when they clash with each other at Capital One Arena on Wednesday night (7 PM ET, TNT). The Bruins won two out of three meetings last season with the Capitals taking the final one by a score of 4-2 in Washington on April 10.

Schedule

Bruins: will just be the first of three times in their first nine games they play away from home

Capitals: will play three of first four games and four of first six at home, play at Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday

Last Season’s Records

Bruins: 25-13-3 on road (sixth in NHL), 51-26-5 (.652 points percentage) – fourth in Atlantic Division/sixth in Eastern Conference

Capitals: 19-16-6 at home (21st), 44-26-12 (.610) – fourth in Metropolitan Division/eighth in Eastern Conference

Last Season’s Team Leaders

Bruins:

• RW David Pastrnak (40 goals)
• LW Brad Marchand (48 assists, 80 points)
• D Charlie McAvoy (24:38 TOI/game)
• G Linus Ullmark (26 wins)

Capitals:

• LW Alex Ovechkin (50 goals, 90 points)
• C Evgeny Kuznetsov (54 assists)
• D John Carlson (54 assists, 23:49 TOI/game)
• G Darcy Kuemper (37 wins), with Colorado Avalanche

Expected Starting Goaltenders

Bruins: TBD

– Linus Ullmark, 29: 26-10-2, .917 save percentage, 2.45 goals-against average, one shutout in 41 games last season and 4-5-1, .892 save percentage, 2.96 goals-against average in 10 career games vs. WSH (2-1-0, .886 save percentage, 3.03 goals-against average in 2021-22)

– Jeremy Swayman, 23: 23-14-3, .914 save percentage, 2.41 goals-against average, three shutouts in 41 games and 1-1-0, .938 save percentage, 2.00 goals-against average in two games vs. WSH in 2020-21

Capitals: Kuemper, 32 – 37-12-4, .921 save percentage, 2.54 goals-against average, five shutouts in 57 games and 1-6-0, .894 save percentage, 3.03 goals-against average in seven career games vs. BOS (including 1-1-0, .896 save percentage, 3.97 goals-against average last season)

Injuries/Illnesses

Bruins

* LW Brad Marchand (hip, out indefinitely)

* D Charlie McAvoy (shoulder, out indefinitely)

* D Matt Grzelcyk (shoulder, out indefinitely)

Capitals

* LW Carl Hagelin (hip, out indefinitely)

* RW Tom Wilson (ACL, out indefinitely)

* C Nicklas Backstrom (hip, out indefinitely)

Projected Lineups

Bruins

Taylor Hall — Patrice Bergeron — Jake DeBrusk
Pavel Zacha — David Krejci — David Pastrnak
A.J. Greer — Charlie Coyle — Craig Smith
Nick Foligno — Tomas Nosek — Jakub Lauko

Lindholm-Carlo
Forbort-Zboril
Reilly-Clifton

Ullmark
Swayman

Scratched: LW Trent Frederic, C Jack Studnicka, D Anton Stralman

Head coach Jim Montgomery will make his Bruins debut behind the bench on Wednesday after the team fired former Capitals head coach Bruce Cassidy over the offseason.

Zacha will also wear the spoked B for the first time since the Bruins acquired him from the New Jersey Devils for center Erik Haula on July 13. Krejci played last season in the Czech league.

Capitals

Ovechkin — Kuznetsov — Connor Brown
Aliaksei Protas — Dylan Strome — Anthony Mantha
Marcus Johansson — Lars Eller — T.J. Oshie
Conor Sheary — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway

Martin Fehervary — Carlson
Dmitry Orlov — Nick Jensen
Erik Gustafsson — Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Kuemper
Lindgren

Extras: LW Joe Snively, C Connor McMichael, D Matt Irwin

The Capitals started the 2020-21 season 6-0-3 and last campaign 5-0-3.

They will see Strome, Brown, and Gustafsson make their debuts with the team in addition to Kuemper.

By Harrison Brown