Caps Drop Exhibition Opener, 2-1

After just two days worth of training camp, a group of 20 Capitals took a Sunday morning flight to Boston for the first of seven preseason games for Washington this fall, a Sunday matinee match against the Bruins.
Boston prevailed in a shootout, 2-1.

Early exhibition games are a chance for veterans to shake off rust and for kids to open eyes. Despite the loss, both of those objectives were achieved in Sunday's initial tune-up tilt.
Both of Washington's young netminders were sharp in Sunday's skills setback, a game in which the Caps were on the short side of a 34-22 disparity in shots on net. The Bruins owned a 33-17 advantage in shots after the first 60 minutes of play.

Pheonix Copley started and stopped 21 of the 22 shots he faced in 32:05 worth of work. Vitek Vanecek came on in relief just after the midpoint of the game, and he stopped all 12 shots he faced in 32:55 between the pipes. The only puck to get past Vanecek was Danton Heinen's opening salvo in the shootout; none of the three Caps were able to score on Boston netminder Zane McIntyre.
Boston's Jakob Lauko - the Bruins' third-round pick (77th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft - started the scoring when he beat Copley from the slot at 17:01 of the first.
Copley made a number of strong stops in the first half of the game, papering over some miscues with the puck and in coverage in front of him. Late in the second, a trio of Caps vets showed some slick puck movement, culminating in Brett Connolly's tying tally at 17:25.

Andre Burakovsky and Christian Djoos worked a give-and-go up high in the Boston zone, the former feeding Connolly after taking the return from Djoos. From the right hash marks, Connolly fired a precision wrist shot under the bar to make it a 1-1 game.
Washington played its best hockey in the third and in the extra session. The Caps were more assertive offensively in the third, when they were able to get through neutral ice more consistently, which in turn led to more of a forecheck at times.
Both sides had chances to win it late in regulation, and the Caps had several good looks in the extra session when they enjoyed the man advantage for more than half of the five minutes, including 55 seconds worth of 5-on-3 time. Despite outshooting the B's 5-1 in overtime, the Caps couldn't get one past McIntyre.

Penalty killing was a strong suit in Washington's game on Sunday; the Caps were 4-for-4 on the kill, permitting only five shots on net in eight minutes with the manpower disadvantage. Blueliners Jonas Siegenthaler (4:35) and Tyler Lewington (4:14) were both on the ice for more than half of the Capitals' shorthanded time in the game, and both showed well. Lewington dropped the mitts with Bruins freshman Zach Senyshyn in the first.
Boston visits the District for a rematch on Tuesday at Capital One Arena, the Caps' preseason home opener.
Notes:The Caps dressed just six "veterans" for Sunday's game, five of whom skated in the Stanley Cup-clinching Game 5 win over the Golden Knights in Vegas on June 7 … In addition to being the three Caps to collect a point in Sunday's game, Burakovsky, Connolly and Djoos also sported the three sweaters adorned with the alternate captain's "A" for Washington … Ex-Cap Daniel Winnik is in camp on a PTO with the Bruins, and he skated 16:20 for Boston.