SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes From Caps' Morning Skate

Take Two -In Wednesday night's home opener in Washington, the Caps were a little choppy and a little sloppy early in the contest, and the visiting Bruins took full advantage in forging a 3-0 lead before the first television timeout out of the second period. Although the Caps rallied to pull within a goal before the middle period was in the books, their comeback bid fell short in a 5-2 opening night loss to Boston.

The setback was the first the Caps have suffered in regulation since Oct. 1, 2013 in Chicago, and it marked the first time Washington failed to earn at least a point in the home opener since Jan. 22, 2013.
"We didn't get off to the start we wanted," says Caps defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. "We didn't just simplify and get pucks in. And we saw that when we did do that, we played a much better game. I thought as the game went on, we did get better and we created more. But we just dug ourselves too big of a hole to start."
Washington actually played well after the early hiccups, but as van Riemsdyk suggests, spotting the opposition a three-goal lead is rarely going to produce a positive result in the NHL.
Taking their game on the road for the first time this season, the Caps will take on a Maple Leafs team that suffered a bad beat in Montreal last night in its own season opener. After twice letting a one-goal lead slip away, the Leafs twice allowed the Habs to score the go-ahead goal in the final three minutes of regulation on Wednesday night at Bell Centre, falling 4-3 on Josh Anderson's shot from the slot with 17.9 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Caps and Leafs both figure to be smarting a bit from their respective opening night experiences as they take the ice for tonight's tilt.
"Going back and watching the first period, there were some good things that we did too, in the offensive zone," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "We possessed the puck, and the scoring chances were pretty tight.
"They put in a power play goal and they caught us once on [defensive] zone coverage. They chip in that third one, and when you want your home opener to start the way you want it to start in front of your fans and it doesn't go that way, it almost has a reverse spin to it. We didn't handle that very well, but our guys kept fighting and we pushed it back to 3-2 and kept pressing, and I thought at times we worked hard.
"There's definitely things we could have done better; better execution of the system at 5-on-5, better execution on the power play, the penalty kill, the start. So there's things that we talked about that we'll try to get better at."
In The Nets - Charlie Lindgren is expected to make his Capitals debut in net tonight, facing the Leafs in Toronto. Along with the Maple Leafs and the Blackhawks, the Caps are one of three teams to undergo a wholesale change in the crease this season, but the Caps are doing so for the first time in their 48-season history.
The 28-year-old Lindgren is entering his seventh full pro season, and although he has seen NHL action in six different seasons, this is the first time he has cracked an opening night roster. After winning each of his five starts with St. Louis last season and also helping AHL Springfield to reach the Calder Cup final, Lindgren signed a three-year pact with the Caps over the summer. He has worked long and hard to achieve this level of stability, and he doesn't take it lightly.
"It really has been unbelievable," he says. "From the moment I got here, this felt like a great spot to be. The locker room here has been amazing to me. With all the new guys, just from day one they took us right in and it's been great that way.
"This is my first year making a team on opening night, and that means the world to me. I think if look at my last few years, there's been some times where I didn't know if I would ever have this moment, and it certainly feels good to be here and to know that I've worked hard, I battled through the adversity, and I'm still here, I'm still standing, and I'm still getting better."
Every player wants to ascend to the NHL as soon as possible, but Lindgren believes he's better suited to be here now than perhaps at any previous point of his career.
"I was actually just thinking today that I'd rather be here and making the team in year seven than in year two, just because I'm more ready," says Lindgren. "My second, third, fourth years, I didn't feel like I was ready and now I certainly feel like I am. I feel like I belong.
"I've felt great at all of the practices, I felt great during the preseason games and I think I can build off what I did last year. I had an awesome year in the American League and in my stint in the NHL up in St. Louis, so I just feel like I have a lot of momentum right now, and I'm feeling really good about my game."
Lifetime against the Maple Leafs, Lindgren is 1-2 with a 4.83 GAA and an .888 save pct. in three appearances.
For Toronto, Ilya Samsonov will be making his Maple Leafs debut tonight, and doing so against the Caps, the team that drafted him in the first round (22nd overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft. Samsonov forged a 52-22-8 record in three seasons with Washington, with a 2.81 GAA and a .902 save pct.
All Lined Up -Neither Washington nor Toronto conducted a full morning skate after playing and traveling last night, so we're unsure of any possible lineup changes at the moment. Here is how the Capitals and Maple Leafs lined up for their respective Wednesday night games:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 28-Brown
59-Protas, 17-Strome, 39-Mantha
90-Johansson, 20-Eller, 77-Oshie
73-Sheary, 26-Dowd, 21-Hathaway
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 3-Jensen
56-Gustafsson, 57-van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders
79-Lindgren
35-Kuemper
Healthy Extras
24-McMichael
52-Irwin
91-Snively
Injured
19-Backstrom (hip)
43-Wilson (knee)
62-Hagelin (hip)
TORONTO
Forwards
58-Bunting, 34-Matthews, 16-Marner
88-Nylander, 91-Tavares, 62-Malgin
47-Engvall, 15-Kerfoot, 19-Jarnkrok
12-Aston-Reese, 64-Kampf, 96-Aube-Kubel
Defensemen
44-Rielly, 78-Brodie
8-Muzzin, 3-Holl
55-Giordano, 38-Sandin
Goaltenders
30-Samsonov
35-Murray
Healthy Extras
None
Injured
18-Jordie Benn (groin)
37-Liljegren (hernia)
48-Dahlstrom (shoulder)