"The atmosphere is crazy," says Ovechkin. "I think we were all missing it the last couple of years. It's a totally different feeling when everybody is cheering for you. It doesn't matter what happens, you can still hear the crowd and it's going to give you anyway."
Washington was a little wobbly early, but Vanecek was not. He made a good stop on the game's first shift to deny Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox before the game was half a minute old, and the sophomore netminder was called upon to make four more saves during an early New York power play.
As that first New York power play was expiring, Caps winger Carl Hagelin made a play to Nic Dowd deep in New York ice, and Dowd was able to draw a slashing minor on Patrick Nemeth to give Washington its first power play of the season.
The Caps took a 1-0 lead on the ensuing man advantage when Ovechkin's shot from the left half-wall got hung up in Alexandar Georgiev's pads and T.J. Oshie banged the loose puck home from a few feet away at 4:39 of the first.
Shortly after the Oshie goal, Vanecek preserved the advantage with a snazzy glove save on a Kaapo Kakko shot from the slot, perhaps the goalie's best stop of the frame.
"They had a couple of chances in the first period," says Vanecek. "I tried to keep the game in play. But the guys helped me a lot in the second and third period."
New York's lack of discipline carried into the second period, and the Caps again took advantage. With Alexis Lafreniere in the box for hauling down Garnet Hathaway, Washington doubled its lead on Justin Schultz's center point drive at 12:38, the Caps' second power-play goal of the night.
While the arena was still buzzing from that goal and before it had been announced over the public address system, the Caps cobbled together the prettiest goal of the evening.
From deep in his own zone, Conor Sheary lofted a long pass up the left side of the rink, similar to a "go deep, I'll look for ya" type of schoolyard football play. Oshie received it and settled it just ahead of the New York line, gained the zone and then made a beautiful backhand feed through his legs to the trailing Lapierre, who scored on a wrist shot from the left circle before careening into the back wall. Oshie leaned over to pick him up and hug him, celebrating the rookie's first goal on the occasion of his first NHL game.