Don Cherry Rips Caps, Fans

Jets played perfect road game. Good for them. WSH players should be embarrassed. Not many guys worked up a sweat. They should check their

— Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) January 23, 2013

underwear. All the guys except Hendricks. Him and Thorburn had a beauty. A lot of empty seats there.

— Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) January 23, 2013

[H/t Stephen Whyno]

Clyde's Shots: Capitals-Jets, January 22, 2013

The Caps' home opener might not have seemed like much to look at... until you see these stills

Capitals-Jets Postgame Quote Sheet

Via the Caps, post-game quotes following their 4-2 loss to Winnipeg:

Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates on learning the new system...

"It is a good system. It's going to be hard and we have to fight through that. I thought we could have had better execution. We didn't give ourselves the opportunity to play the team game. We turned it over on the blue line too many times, little subtle things that could have gone better to help ourselves."

Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates on the energy level of the team...

"The guys didn't look like they had much in the tank. I'm sure that's a product of this season and what happened and our conditioning levels which we talk about every day."

Washington Capitals forward Matt Hendricks on the energy on the ice ...

"I didn't think we had the energy we needed tonight. One of our keys to success was to put them on their heels, put pucks in their end, get them to turn, get them to work. They played last night and we didn't make it look like that."

Washington Capitals forward Matt Hendricks on the level of play tonight...

"It was a little surprising. We have been talking since we got back in town about how much we missed Verizon Center and our fans, playing in front of them and the support they give us. I thought guys worked hard, but we need a little bit more energy."

Washington Capitals forward Joel Ward on the urgency to catch up...

"It's two games out of 48. It's a long way to go. Anything can happen, obviously. We are just focused on the next day and the next game."

Washington Capitals forward Joel Ward on the energy from Matt Hendricks...

"Hendy [Matt Hendricks] brings it every night. He is a solid player obviously and he brings a lot of energy. He was just trying to do his best to get the team going a little bit and we just had a few lapses and they just capitalized."

Winnipeg Jets head coach Claude Noel on getting three out of a possible four points on the road ...

"Three out of four points on the road is real good for us, I thought we played well, I thought [goaltender Ondrej Pavelec] was outstanding. He was in a real good groove and our power play [was good as well], and I thought we played a good team game again so you've got to like what you see from our group, especially after the first game."

Winnipeg Jets head coach Claude Noel on his team's power play tonight...

"We were a little bit fortunate, I thought [forward Evander Kane's] goal was a little bit lucky but that's what happens when you put pucks to the net. The other [power play] goal, the Antropov [pass] to Ladd, I thought was a really good play. It's a matter of time, they usually go in waves, but we'll take them when we can."

Winnipeg Jets forward Andrew Ladd on how the team was successful tonight...

"I thought it was a really solid effort from start to finish. We had four lines going and we were smart with the pucks, and that lead to a lot of good things...I think winning in general, that's the way we want to play. Our defense played great, they blocked a lot of shots, we were strong defensively and when we had the puck offensively, we did good things with it and put it in good spots."

Winnipeg Jets Andrew Ladd on winning the special teams battle...

"It's always good, special teams are such a key [part of the game] especially against a team like this, [the Capitals] power play is one of the best in the league. You have to be able to counteract that with a good one yourself. It's always good to get one [a power play goal] early and it's going to be big for us going forward."

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tobias Enstrom on his team carrying some momentum over from the Boston game yesterday ...

"Every point is important and it feels like the Boston game, we were moving in the right direction, and coming out with two points on this game makes me happy."

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tobias Enstrom on getting the two points in a tough building...

"We have to keep building from last year and keep learning [and] it feels like we're doing that. Two points here in Washington is not an easy road game so that's good."

Recap: Jets 4, Caps 2

The Caps drop to 0-2-0 after dropping their home opener to Winnipeg

Third Period Open Thread

Adam Oates's Caps are very much a work in progress, alright... but at some point, that "progress" has to show up.

Third period ahead...

Second Period Open Thread

A couple of bounces - one good, one bad - had the game tied before Winnipeg's second power-play goal of the period (and fifth in nine times shorthanded for the Caps through four periods on the campaign) provided the visitors with a 2-1 lead at the break.

Second period ahead...

First Period Open Thread

Adam Oates makes his debut behind the home bench at Verizon Center and the Caps look to level their record (and avoid falling into an 0-2-0 hole) against a Southeast Division rival.

Game on!

Tonight's Lines: Kundratek, Crabb In; Schultz, Erskine Out

Per Stephen Whyno, here are tonight's lines (with Braden Holtby in goal):

Marcus Johansson - Nicklas Backstrom - Alex Ovechkin

Wojtek Wolski - Mike Ribeiro - Troy Brouwer

Jason Chimera - Jay Beagle - Joel Ward

Matt Hendricks - Mathieu Perreault - Joey Crabb

Karl Alzner - John Carlson

Tom Poti - Mike Green

Roman Hamrlik - Tomas Kundratek

That leaves Jeff Schultz and John Erskine as healthy scratches, Jack Hillen and Brooks Laich out with injury.

Game Day Thread - Jets @ Caps

It's time for the home opener, and be sure to tune in early - there's no banner-raising ceremony to delay the start of this one...

The Noon Number: 10

A look at the Caps' recent opening night success...

Tuesday Caps Clips: Jets @ Caps Game Day

Daily Washington Capitals news and notes: The Caps get ready for their home opener and more.