Geoff Burke — Imagn Images
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals got off to the start they were looking for on Thursday, with Ryan Leonard opening the scoring and the team dominating the Boston Bruins. Then, things took a turn in the second, and ultimately, two sloppy goals led to a 3-1 loss.
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In the first period, Leonard got to the net-front and batted in a rebound off Jakob Chychrun’s point shot to make it a 1-0 game. Hendrix Lapierre picked up his league-leading sixth assist on the tally. It marked Leonard’s third goal of the preseason, and was the catalyst for what was an impressive game for the rookie.
Leonard was all over the ice and made his presence known early and often, doing what he could to get under Boston’s skin while working wonders on the forecheck and using his speed and hockey IQ to his advantage.
After a dominant opening frame where D.C. led 16-5 in shots on goal, things started to slow down in the second. The Bruins got more aggressive, and Riley Tufte opened the scoring after poking in a misplayed dump-in by Charlie Lindgren. Then, later in the frame, Brett Harrison went to the front of the net and crashed the crease before sliding a puck five-hole to make it 2-1. He scored again on the empty net to seal the deal late.
Though Leonard and the Capitals had their fair share of opportunities, Joonas Korpisalo was the difference for the Bruins, stopping 30 of 31 shots, to lead Boston to the win. Alex Ovechkin, making his preseason debut, played 21:07 and recorded one shot, and Washington went 0-for-4 on the power play.
Sheldon Rempal led the Capitals with five shots on goal. Charlie Lindgren had 23 saves on 25 shots in the loss.