Going up against a tough Devils team – with improved goaltending – that has already been in action for the last two weeks was already going to be a tough draw for the Capitals as they opened their 2024-25 season. Add in the fact that the Caps have also been sitting around for a week since their last preseason action, and a lengthy pregame ceremony, and the makings were there for an uphill climb in the season opener. Considering all of those factors, the Caps performed relatively well last night.
Don’t take that to mean they looked good, by the way, because…they didn’t. It was very clearly Game #1 of 82 for the Caps, and timing in particular was a bit off up and down the lineup (more in some places than others). Their third line got completely outworked and outscored by the Devils’ third line, and they pretty much fell asleep in the second period.
They also played with five defensemen for the majority of the game, which didn’t help matters, as Matt Roy played just 8:39 of his first game as a Capital before leaving the game with a lower-body injury.
There were positives to take out of this loss, though. The team certainly looks faster, if a little (okay a lot) discombobulated at times. The special teams, as noted last night, got off to a pretty decent start. They had a strong start and a relatively good finish. A couple of the team’s biggest names showed up, including John Carlson, Dylan Strome, and Tom Wilson. There are things on which the team can build, and plenty of time to correct those negatives.
Turning Point: The second period as a whole was where things went off the rails a bit for the Caps, as they gave up two goals without scoring one of their own and just generally seemed to be on their heels.
So the Caps start the season 0-1, spoiling a bit of the buzz from the kickoff to the 50th anniversary season. They’ll have a few days off to lick their wounds before getting right back at it Tuesday night against the visiting Golden Knights.