[ad_1]
Los Angeles (AFP) – Evgeny Kuznetsov scored two goals and Braden Holtby made his first shutout in the regular season in 18 months as the Washington Capitals opened their Stanley Cup defense with a defeat by the Boston Bruins 7-0.
A dazzling home win was the perfect start for the Capitals, who waved their first banner of the NHL championship at a festive ceremony before the preliminary faceoff.
Washington has reached the pinnacle of sport by defeating the Vegas Golden Knights expansion in five games to win the Stanley Cup in June.
The Bruins clash was one of four games on Wednesday marking the opening night of the 2018-19 regular season.
Superstar Alex Ovechkin was the last player out of the tunnel. The Russian striker did it in style, winning the Stanley Cup and making a final round around the Capital One arena. The players then gathered in the center of the ice to take the picture of their team while the banner was placed over the head.
Washington will have to do the same without head coach Barry Trotz, who then joined the New York Islanders. He was replaced by assistant Todd Reirden.
Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins are the biggest hurdle preventing the Capitals from coming back.
Pittsburgh has won consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 and Washington hopes to do the same.
Holtby finished with 25 saves for the 33rd shutout of his career. It was the Canadiens' first shutout since April 2017, when he had known the entire regular season last year. It was the first time that Holtby had not managed a full-season shutout since 2006-07, while he was playing for the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League.
Ovechkin finished with a goal and an assist and Niklas Backstrom delivered three assists in the win.
T.J. Oshie started the rout with a goal just 24 seconds into the match.
Boston goalkeeper Tuukka Rask of Finland allowed five goals on 19 shots before being withdrawn in favor of Czech Jaroslav Halak. The Bruins suffered their biggest loss of the night in the history of the franchise.
Bruins Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara were both minus two in the night. Marchand scored a goal and 19 penalty minutes due to an unprovoked attack from Lars Eller, the playoff hero in Washington.
Capitals forward Tom Wilson was dressed and on the ice for the banner-raising ceremony, but did not play.
Earlier in the day, Wilson was hit with a 20-match suspension for knocking out St. Louis Blues player Oskar Sundqvist in a preseason game Sunday.
It was only the last of a long series of penalties for foul play against Wilson, suspended three times last season.
In other games on Wednesday, two stars made their debut with their new teams, including defenseman Erik Karlsson with the San Jose Sharks and forward John Tavares with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Tavares scored one goal and teammate Auston Matthews scored 61 seconds in overtime as the Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2.
Source link
