Capitals Offense Catches Fire with 7 Goals in Season-Opener of Stanley Cup Defense

October 3, 2018

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The Boston Bruins may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time on Wednesday night. The Washington Capitals raised their first-ever Stanley Cup Champions banner. The pre-game celebration may have been one of the best displays ever in raising a championship banner in sports history. And that energy carried over into the season opener, as the defending NHL champs exploded for six goals in the first two periods.

After scoring two goals in the game’s first 1:47, the Capitals picked the scoring back up in the second period, lighting the lamp four times in the period. The fifth score of the game and third of the period chased off Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask.

The goal scoring in the second period got started with the 2018 Conn Smythe winner Alex Ovechkin netting his first goal of the season from his office.

ALEX OVECHKIN DOING ALEX OVECHKIN THINGS FROM THE ALEX OVECHKIN SPOT! #ALLCAPS DOMINATION! pic.twitter.com/mr1HiHzfDH

— NHL Highlights #StanleyCup | HockeyDaily365 (@HockeyDaily365) October 4, 2018

The goal was Ovechkin’s 10th in a season-opening game tying him with Patrick Marleau for most among active players.

Then Nic Dowd scored a doozy with a spin move to give him enough spacing to fire the puck past Rask to put the Capitals ahead 4-0.

When the spin cycle is left on. 🔄

🇺🇸 NBCSN: https://t.co/VcPKy7syaL #WNH #NHLFaceoff https://t.co/sqebt9iBUS

— NHL (@NHL) October 4, 2018

Evgeny Kuznetsov, who scored in the first period added his second goal of the game. Goalie Braden Holtby, who has been clean in the net got into the action collecting an assist as he fed defenseman John Carlson, who fed Kuznetsov, who took care of the rest skating past the Bruins defense to beat Rask.

Starts with @Holts170, ends with @Kuzya92. #NHLFaceoff https://t.co/fMgSfqYtnu

— NHL (@NHL) October 4, 2018

That score got Raask pulled. Unfortunately for Boston Jaroslav Halak wasn’t much better, as Carlson picked up his second point of the night, scoring a power play goal as the $64 million defenseman impersonating Ovechkin scoring from Ovi’s office.

Hey, @JohnCarlson74, that's not your spot. 🤔 #NHLFaceoff https://t.co/kLDn8Kf2vT

— NHL (@NHL) October 4, 2018

The defending champions got serenaded by the Capital One Arena crowd with “back-to-back” chants. And while it’s just game No. 1 of a long season, the Capitals surely look like a team that is obsessed with bringing home a second Stanley Cup crown.

Good thing the Cup is still in the building. Just hand it back over to them, and let’s fast-forward to 2019-20. https://t.co/F4YO52kMOs

— Joedy McCreary (@JoedyMcCreary) October 4, 2018

And just in case there was any chance six goals were not enough, the Capitals added a seventh in the third period. Lars Eller, the unsung hero of Washington’s Stanley Cup title run, beat Halak at the 10:52 mark.