Notes from last night

Last night, the Capitals kicked off the new season with a 5-4 shootout win against the Ottawa Senators.  Alexander Ovechkin notably tied the franchise mark with 3 goals in the opener, though new linemates Jakub Vrana and Evgeny Kuznetsov had strong performances, scoring two and three assists, respectively.

• Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Vrana will combine for 100 or more goals.  Guaranteed.
• Ovechkin's newly formed trio dominated the score sheet, with all posting strong possession numbers and accounting for the bulk of the scoring, but the Backstrom line may have had an even stronger game, led by Andre Burakovsky's ridiculous 71% CF.  The BBO line, with TJ Oshie on the right side, will have a fair amount of defensive zone starts, but strong skating and puck skills will enable them to still produce at a fair clip.  
• Lars Eller looked great, winning 60% of his faceoffs, twice setting up Alex Chiasson while shorthanded, and landing an assist on Brett Connolly's goal.  When Tom Wilson returns and takes his place on his right side, we should see Eller's line play eat a lot of tough minutes.  Some continued offense would be a bonus.
• Jay Beagle, Tyler Graovac, and Devante Smith-Pelly were buried, ceding 24 more shot attempts than they took.  Beagle had a strong game in the faceoff dot but otherwise was forgettable, finishing with a -2, no hits, and a single shot attempt.  Graovac was the only one of the trio to finish without a negative Corsi (50%), but he also only saw 6 minutes of ice time, not playing after the 43rd minute.  Smith-Pelly gave a goal away, and his physical play in the corners may not have been enough to earn the sweater on Saturday.  
• We expect the Thunder from Down Under to make his debut against the Canadiens in the Capitals home opener.  
• Dmitry Orlov posted a 62.5% CF while playing the second most minutes.  He was on the ice for 3:30 of shorthanded time, which when compared to the 14 seconds he averaged per game last season, indicates a great deal more responsibility on his shoulders.  
• Aaron Ness and Taylor Chorney were predictably awful.  Ness took two penalties, and whiffed on a hip check.  Chorney looked every bit the 7th defenseman he is.  Barry Trotz thankfully kept them off the ice a lot, but one has to wonder how much worse Christian Djoos and Madison Bowey would be. 
• Worse still was John Carlson.  He posted a -3 and took out Nicklas Backstrom with this hit.  No bueno.
• Brooks Orpik played almost 25 minutes, 6 of which were shorthanded.  Never much of a possession hound, Orpik finished with a 37% CF and a -3 as Carlson's partner.
• Braden Holtby looked rusty.  He did not pass the eye test.
• Did you see the score of Chicago-Pittsburgh? Hahah