The Washington Capitals lost their second consecutive game to open the 2024 preseason, falling 4-2 to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday night. Washington has yet to assemble most of their NHL talent in the same game, opting again to disperse prospects and minor leaguers throughout their lineup.
The one full NHL line in the game made up of Connor McMichael, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Tom Wilson, all earned points in the loss. McMichael pounced on a loose puck for his first goal of the preseason. Andrew Cristall also tallied his second goal in three days, finding the back of the net in the final minute of regulation.
Observations
The Capitals have recorded just 43 total shots through the first two games of the preseason. While these games obviously do not count, it’s still something to note, as Washington’s problems generating shots from last season don’t appear to have gone anywhere just yet. They finished 30th in the NHL in shots per game last year (26.5).
Spencer Carbery has had Martin Fehervary and Matt Roy paired throughout camp thus far, and the two delivered in their debut game together. With Fehervary on the ice at five-on-five, Washington dominated play with positive differentials in shot attempts (+10), scoring chances (+8), and high-danger chances (+3). Roy led all skaters in ice time, playing 21:43 of the matchup.
Ivan Miroshnichenko was the Capitals player who filled out the stat sheet the most, recording two shots on goal, six individual shot attempts, four individual scoring chances, one individual high-danger chance, a hooking minor penalty, two hits, and one blocked shot.
Ilya Protas had a very solid night as the youngest player in Washington’s lineup. Little Pro skated 13:12 of ice time in the matchup and almost found an assist when his big brother Aliaksei Protas rang the bar late in the second period.
It was another not-so-great night for Ethen Frank, who looks to be falling behind in the competition for one of the open NHL roster spots. Frank directly screened Hunter Shepard on one of the goals and was beaten in a stick battle for another. The fastest player in hockey tends to thrive on high shot volume and only registered one shot.
With two goals in two games, Cristall is doing his best to try and force the Capitals to make a tough decision on him in a couple of weeks. The 19-year-old winger has only two options this season: return to the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets or play in the NHL with Washington. Henrik Rybinski, who also had a good night, provided a deft assist on Cristall’s goal.
Hunter Shepard has allowed seven goals on just 33 shots in his two starts. Most of those goals featured some rough defensive coverage, but Shepard can’t love how he’s started this year.
Washington will be back on the ice in the back half of a preseason back-to-back on Wednesday night. They’ll be on the road again, traveling to Prudential Center to play the New Jersey Devils.
