Caps top Bruins in season opener, 4-1

(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Alexander Ovechkin does many things well on the ice.  But tonight, the reigning two-time MVP did two things in particular: Score goals and crush the hearts of the opposing fans.

The sellout crowd of 17,565 watched as the Washington Capitals trumped the Bruins tonight, 4-1, at the home opener at the TD Garden.

Bruins netminder Tim Thomas faced 34 shots tonight, five from Ovechkin, in his first loss as reigning Vezina Trophy winner.

Just 20 seconds into the first period, the Bruins offense looked as if it was going to make it a long night for Caps netminder, Jose Theodore, when Marc Savard walked into the open slot and fired away. Theodore kicked it aside and Savard picked up his own rebound and missed the open side of the net, left.

But it was Washington who got on the board first, and never looked back. The Bruins got nabbed for too many men on the ice and Capitals center Brooks Laich took advantage. Laich scored the first goal of the game with 2:45 remaining in the first period, from Backstrom and Ovechkin. Laich finished the game with two goals and one assist for three of the Capitals four points.

Dennis Wideman said of the bench minor penalty, "A lot of times I make passes just when I see a black sweater out of the corner of my eye...without looking. I should have taken a good look before I snapped it across."

David Krejci, back from hip surgery, made his return to the ice tonight, logging over 17 minutes of ice time and two shots on net.

"I think for a guy who hadn't played at all, he had a really good game...for a guy who hadn't played since last year, I give him a lot of credit for what he did tonight." from head coach Claude Julien during the postgame interviews.

The Bruins had their chances tonight, especially with their six power play opportunities, but to no avail. The B's ended 60 minutes shutout 0-6 on the PP, while allowing two short-handed goals.

"This will not be the team you're going to see night after night this year. That much I can guarantee."  Julien stated.

One big key to the Capitals victory tonight was their blocked shots -- 16 total and 11 of those in the second period. Jose Theodore shied away 19 of the 20 shots he faced tonight for Washington.

It wasn't until midway through the third period when the Bruins lit the lamp. Patrice Bergeron scored Boston's lone goal on a breakaway, after the bouncing puck made its way over Caps defenseman Tom Poti's stick. But it was too little, too late. The Bruins managed to put the puck on net just three times in the third period.

"We've got to make sure we play for 60 minutes, we've been saying that for so long and last year was the same thing. Making sure you're sharp for those 60 minutes"" Bergeron said in the locker room after the game.

"We had a lot of good players who were not very good for us tonight." Julien added after the game. "We came out strong, we didn't sustain the tempo we had the first ten minutes...we just didn't and I think that's what hurt us"

Three Stars of the Game
3. Niklas Backstrom 3 assists, plus-one
2. Alexander Semin 2 assists, plus-one, two shots on goal
1. Alexander Ovechkin 2 goals, 1 assist, plus-two, five shots on goal

The Bruins head back to the drawing board tomorrow at practice before their next home game on Saturday, when they host Aaron Ward and the Carolina Hurricanes back at the TD Garden at 7 p.m.

Bruins superstats from tonight:

• Only Mark Stuart and Steve Begin were on the plus side (+1) tonight
• Derek Morris had four blocked shots
• Steve Begin led all Bruins with six hits
• Dennis Wideman logged the most ice time, 26:31
• Patrice Bergeron won eight faceoffs (53%)
• Marco Sturm and Marc Savard each logged 5:07 of ice time on the power play

Be sure to check out photos of the game below in the slideshow!