Pluses, minuses for Bruins, Capitals

Each Wednesday throughout the regular season, Kevin Weekes will be offering his pluses and minuses for the teams competing on NBCSN Wednesday Night Hockey in his Weekes on the Web blog. Weekes also will assist fans with three must-watch elements of the game.

The Washington Capitals were able to do what many didn't think they could do by winning the Stanley Cup for the first time last season. Everyone played together as a team, and coach Barry Trotz was able to bring them together when it mattered.
The Boston Bruins appeared to be on their way to the Cup, steamrolling through the regular season before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the Eastern Conference Second Round.
It will be a great night when the Capitals raise their Stanley Cup banner before hosting the Bruins at Capital One Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS). Here's my breakdown of the game:

Bruins

Pluses: The Bruins were the best team in the League from the middle of December through the end of the regular season, and they'll look to build on that. Boston went 35-10-7 in its final 52 games and seemed unstoppable heading into the playoffs. I think the Bruins have a Stanley Cup-contending team right now.
Another positive is that it appears center Patrice Bergeron, who didn't play during the preseason because of back spasms and is coming off offseason groin surgery, will be able to play. It's no secret the Bruins are a much better team when one of the best two-way players in the League is in the lineup.
Bergeron was part of one of the best lines in hockey last season, centering for forwards Brad Marchand (85 points) and David Pastrnak (80 points). Boston's depth up front is a big reason it has been successful.

Minuses: There's no doubting Marchand's talent; he's scored 85 points in each of the past two seasons and at least 34 goals in each of the past three. But he needs to learn to keep his cool. Marchand has developed into one of the better offensive players in the NHL, but he needs to be smarter on the ice.
Losing defenseman Adam McQuaid is a big blow. He was with the Bruins for nine seasons and was part of their Cup-winning team in 2011, but was traded to the New York Rangers on Sept. 11. McQuaid was physical and one of the toughest guys in the League. The move is even more amplified with the fact that Torey Krug will be out at least three weeks because of a left ankle injury. Zdeno Chara, Charlie McAvoy and the rest of the defense will need to step up in Krug's absence.
Everyone saw how good the Bruins were last season. The expectation this season is that they'll contend for the Cup, so every opponent is going to bring its best game against them. Coming into last season, they weren't viewed as highly as they are now, and that can change how teams play against you.

Capitals

Pluses: I think Todd Reirden has paid his dues and deserves his chance to coach the Capitals. But he'll be a new voice, and you never know how teams will respond to that.
Alex Ovechkin put to rest all the questions about whether he could come up big when it mattered most. He led the League in goals last season (49), then won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP with 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) in 24 games. Now that he's no longer the greatest player to never win a Cup, he should enter the season with less pressure.
Washington returns most of its offense; the most prominent departure was fourth-line center Jay Beagle. Any team with Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie is always a threat to score. The Capitals also managed to re-sign John Carlson, who would have been the top unrestricted free agent defenseman, to an eight-year contract on June 24. Carlson led NHL defensemen in points (NHL career-high 68) last season; he also had NHL career highs in goals (15) and assists (53).
Minuses: Losing Trotz is a big blow. It may have taken a while, but he got the team to respond to him. One of his assistants (Lane Lambert) and his longtime goalie coach (Mitch Korn) also left to join Trotz with the New York Islanders. A new coach combined with a short offseason could lead to a slow start for the Capitals.

They also lost Beagle, who played a huge role for them as a bottom-six guy who could win face-offs. Beagle, who won an NHL-high 131 shorthanded face-offs and was third with 358 defensive-zone face-off wins, signed a four-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks on July 1 after spending his first 11 seasons in the Capitals' organization.
Goalie Philipp Grubauer, who was 28-16-5 with a 2.22 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and six shutouts for the Capitals during the past two seasons, was traded to the Colorado Avalanche on June 22. Grubauer was such an instrumental part of their success that he supplanted Braden Holtby as Washington's starter to begin the playoffs. Although he faltered, the loss of Grubauer could affect the Capitals, who will start the season with Pheonix Copley, with all of two games of NHL experience, as the backup.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1. Will the Capitals have a Cup hangover or come out hungry?
2. Assuming Bergeron plays, how effective will he be without playing in the preseason?
3. Who will win the goalie matchup between Holtby and Boston's Tuukka Rask?