Although there was some expected sloppiness, there were also plenty of positives for Washington, and just one real negative.
Caps right wing Tom Wilson left the game late in the second period after drawing an elbowing call on Hurricanes center Jordan Staal.
"Just purely precautionary, upper body," says Caps associate coach (and acting head coach) Todd Reirden. "So he was getting evaluated tonight and will be re-evaluated [Tuesday] morning and we'll see where he's at."
With several of its players still trickling back into camp after playing at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and with both goaltenders still absent because of that tournament, Washington iced an extremely young and inexperienced lineup for Monday's game.
Starting goaltender Vitek Vanecek was seeing the first preseason action of his NHL career, and veteran Drew MacIntyre came on in relief. While MacIntyre has been a pro for a decade and a half, he has played in only six regular season NHL games and has started only one.
Three of the Caps' six defensemen have yet to make their NHL debuts, and only five of Washington's 12 forwards have as many as 100 games in the league.
"I was really happy with our players," says Reirden. "We've had some hard days the last few days of training camp. In terms of our compete and battle level, it was really good to be able to come from behind in that situation and score a big power-play goal there. It was awesome for our group.
"I was extremely happy with our goaltending. I thought Vitek did a great job with his first game, and I thought MacIntyre made some saves. He's in there as a PTO [professional tryout] for us to get a good look at, so I thought that was excellent."
With Caps coach Barry Trotz still off at the World Cup with Team Canada, Reirden served as bench boss and Hershey assistant Ryan Murphy joined Caps assistants Lane Lambert and Blaine Forsythe behind the bench as well.
"It was great," says Reirden. "It was an awesome opportunity for everyone that was involved. It's been a few years since I was in the role of head coach, so that was something I really enjoyed.
"I thought we were extremely organized back there and really on top of things in terms of line changes, and sharp. It is good to get someone from Hershey to be involved with our power play and then be a part of the big power-play goal there. That's what it's really all about is the organizational development for not just players, but coaches as well. You have to build from within, and there are a lot of positives to take from tonight's game."
Carolina head coach Bill Peters is also off aiding the Team Canada cause at the World Cup. In Peters' absence, Carolina assistants Rod Brind'Amour and Steve Smith are sharing the head coaching chores for the Hurricanes.
Mad Power -Caps defenseman Madison Bowey netted Washington's only goal of Monday's 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the preseason opener for both teams. Bowey's goal came on the power play with 6:02 left in the game.
From the left half-wall, Lars Eller passed to Paul Carey below the goal line on the left side of the ice, and Carey made a perfect feed to Bowey, who stealthily cruised in from his right point position and was able to beat Carolina goaltender Alex Nedelijkovic from the bottom of the right circle.
"I just saw the play developing with Lars Eller," recounts Bowey. "Whenever he is out on the ice, he makes a lot of room for other guys. He made a great pass to Paul Carey. He found me and made it pretty easy for me to shoot it and put it in, so I think I ought to give credit to both of those guys - Paul and Eller - for finding me there."
The 21-year-old Bowey, who totaled four goals and 29 points for AHL Hershey in his first year as a pro last season, is likely to see more power play time if he is in Hershey again in 2016-17. Bowey skated alongside veteran Brooks Orpik in Monday's game.
"His rookie camp was just okay," says Caps associate coach Todd Reirden. "When you get to training camp, it gives you a chance to refocus and start over at times.
"He had a really good year last year in the American League and this gave us a chance to put him with a proven guy. I liked his game and obviously to convert on the power play, huge goal in that situation. That's something we look for from him whether he's here in Washington with us or he's in Hershey, is getting a little bit more power play time and building on his game offensively.
"If you look at his numbers that he had last year, which were great, none of it came on the power play because we were working on solidifying his defensive game. I thought he had a real strong game."
Whistle Blowers -There were six minor penalties called on both sides in Monday's game, and as you'd expect, the calls were mostly of the clutching and grabbing variety. There were four calls for hooking, three for holding, two each for tripping and for interference and a lone elbowing call on which the elbower (Carolina's Jordan Staal) knocked the elbowee (Caps winger Tom Wilson) from the contest.
According to the Caps, Wilson left the game as a precautionary measure and will be evaluated again on Tuesday.
Starting his second season as a pro, Caps winger Riley Barber was called for the first two penalties of the game, a hooking minor at 3:29 of the first and an offensive-zone tripping minor just over five minutes later. Taking two minors in short succession at the start of a game is rarely a way to make a good impression, but Barber played well over the remainder of the game and his transgressions provided a teaching moment for Reirden, who is running the bench in the absence of Caps coach Barry Trotz is serving as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey Tournament.
"It's something I addressed after the game," says Reirden. "Because in the beginning of the year, every NHL season, the referees always call way more penalties on stick infractions. That's something right away I was able to address with the team after the game. That's just moving your feet and working away from the puck.
"Obviously a couple of times [Barber] gets called early in the game. Even as we went on through the game, it's really important to point out some of those things that you know are going to be difference-makers to start the NHL season, and you get to re-emphasize them in a preaseason game like that. So I did talk about that. But I like the way his game came around. A lot of times you'll find with young players that if they have some difficulties in the game in the beginning of the game, then their game continues to head south. His game turned around and I think he was able to add some things as the game went on."
The Kid Is All Right - Roughly three months after he was chosen with Washington's first-round choice (26th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft, defenseman Lucas Johansen donned a Caps' sweater to face an NHL opponent for the first time in Monday's game. He didn't look nervous or out of place, and displayed a great deal of poise and on-ice wherewithal for an 18-year-old kid.
"For a first game," says Reirden, "to have that kind of poise playing defense, you don't see it very often so it's fun to watch."
Johansen is the younger brother of Nashville center Ryan Johansen, and he has had the luxury of skating and practicing with his brother and other NHLers over the last couple summers.
"How he goes about the game," says Reirden, "certainly it's helped growing up in the family that he has and being around some of the players he has practiced with. I think he has some special tools in terms of his ability to slow down the play and see some things that other players don't. So he's looking like an outstanding draft pick for us and a real great prospect moving forward."
Johansen's skating stands out, but he also has a good head for the game. His approach to his first preseason game was a measured one. This guy is not easily rattled. He skated 19:06 in Monday's game, including 4:04 worth of power play time.
"I knew it would be fast and up-tempo," says Johansen. "I just tried to get my feet wet there in the first and kind of settle in. After that, I just took it as another game. That was my mentality over it. It was unfortunate that we couldn't get a win, but it was a great first experience."
Lettermen -Jay Beagle, Brooks Orpik and Tom Wilson wore the alternate captain's "A's" for Washington for Monday's game.
By The Numbers - Aaron Ness led the Caps with 22:34 in ice time … Eller led Caps forwards with 18:27 in ice time … Nathan Walker paced Washington with six hits … Jay Beagle led the Capitals with four shots on net and five shot attempts … Taylor Chorney led Washington with four blocked shots … Chandler Stephenson won six of eight draws (75%).
