The Washington Capitals lost their second straight game to open the 2024 preseason, falling 4-2 to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday night. Washington has yet to assemble all of its NHL talent in a single game, opting once again to spread young players and minor league players throughout the roster.

The only complete NHL line in the game consists of Connor McMichael, Pierre-Luc DuboisAnd Tom Wilsonall points scored in the loss. McMichael took advantage of a loose puck and scored his first goal of the preseason. Andrew Cristall also scored his second goal in three days when he put the ball into the net in the last minute of regular time.

Observations

• The Capitals have allowed just 43 total shots in their first two preseason games. While those games obviously don’t count, it’s still notable because Washington’s scoring woes from last season don’t seem to have disappeared. Last year, they ranked 30th in the NHL in shots per game (26.5).
• Spencer Carbery has Martin Fehervary And Matt Roy have worked together throughout training camp so far, and the two delivered together in their debut game. With Fehervary on the ice at five-on-five, Washington dominated the game with positive differentials in shot attempts (+10), scoring chances (+8), and high-threat chances (+3). Roy was the skater with the best ice time, playing 21:43 of the game.
• Ivan Miroshnichenko was the Capitals’ top statistician, recording two shots on goal, six unique shot attempts, four unique scoring chances, a single high-danger chance, a minor hook penalty, two hits, and a blocked shot.
• Ilya Protas had a very solid evening as the youngest player in Washington’s lineup. Little Pro was on the ice for 13:12 minutes in this match and almost had an assist when his big brother Alexander Protas rang in the bar towards the end of the second half.
• It was again a not so great night for Ethan Frankwho is falling behind in the battle for one of the open spots on the NHL roster. Frank directly shielded Hunter Shepard on one of the goals and was beaten in a stick fight on another. The fastest player in hockey usually thrives on a high shot count and was only able to get off one shot.
• With two goals in two games, Cristall is doing his best to force the Capitals to make a tough decision about him in a few weeks. The 19-year-old winger has only two options this season: return to the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL or play for Washington in the NHL. Henrik Rybinskiwho also had a good evening, provided a clever assist for Cristall’s goal.
• Hunter Shepard has allowed seven goals on just 33 shots in his two appearances. Most of those goals were due to poor defensive performance, but Shepard can’t be happy with his start this year.

Washington will be back on the ice on Wednesday night in the second half of a back-to-back preseason game. They will be on the road again, traveling to the Prudential Center to play the New Jersey Devils.