Caps Raise Banner, Host Bruins in '18-19 Season Opener

Oct. 3 vs. Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: NBCSW
Radio: Capitals Radio 24/7
Boston Bruins 0-0-0
Washington Capitals 0-0-0
Less than four months after hoisting the Stanley Cup in Vegas late last spring, the Capitals will open up the defense of their Cup title on Wednesday night when they host the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena. Ahead of Wednesday night's puck drop, the Caps will raise the first Stanley Cup championship banner in franchise history to the rafters of the big barn on F St.

After briefly reliving their triumphant Cup run of last spring and watching the Cup banner climb to the ceiling, the Caps will have to punch the clock immediately and face the formidable Bruins.
"It's just such an exciting day for our players, our fans and our organization," says Caps coach Todd Reirden. "It's an amazing experience that we're going to be going through, and certainly it's something that is going to be discussed; it does take a little longer than normal, the ceremony before a game or any of the different things you have going on before the start of a normal game."
The banner raising comes two days after the Caps were presented with their Stanley Cup championship rings in a Monday night team dinner and ceremony.
"It was cool," says Caps captain Alex Ovechkin of the ring ceremony. "It was an emotional moment for us and for the organization. [Wednesday] is going to be another very good day. First of all, it's the season opener. We can finally start playing hockey."
"It's going to be crazy, I think," says Caps center Nicklas Backstrom of Wednesday's banner raising. "A lot of emotions; it's been a long time. The organization has been waiting a long time for this, too, and it will sit there forever. For all the fans out there, for the organization, and for us players, [it will be] a special moment for sure. So let's enjoy it, and then get ready for the game."
Washington's early season schedule is quite daunting, starting with Wednesday's game against the Bruins. Each of Washington's first four games will be played against playoff teams from last spring, and three of those foes won a playoff round. Two of them - Pittsburgh and Vegas - are among the four teams the Caps eliminated from the 2018 playoffs. All four of the Caps' first four contests will be played as part of two sets of back-to-back games, meaning they'll likely need to use both of their goaltenders to navigate this patch of scheduling.
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, as some fella named Shakespeare once wrote, and for this season, that head belongs to the Capitals. The short summer doesn't pose as much of an issue for Washington as does merely staying hungry in the wake of the most satisfying season in franchise history.
"I really don't think physically it's going to be as much of a challenge as sometimes I thought it would be," says Caps defenseman Matt Niskanen of the team's title defense. "I feel pretty good for this time of year. I don't see the physical side of it yet. I think mentally being hungry will be a challenge in the regular season, potentially early.
"If you lose that little edge, that hunger, you're just a step slow or a half a step slow in everything, and that's a big deal in this league. And you're going to get everybody's best. Everybody has played the defending champs in their career, and you want to beat those guys. Even in the regular season, it's just two points like any other team, but everyone use it as a measuring stick, and you want to see how you stack up. That will be us this year.
"In the end, the teams are pretty close. It comes down to little battles, little execution, who does things a little bit quicker. I think if we are not hungry, you kind of lose that edge. So we will have to fight to keep pushing forward and to keep getting better."
Washington stayed well under the radar for most of last season and was not seen as a serious Stanley Cup contender by many until after the playoffs were underway. The Capitals know they will have no such luxury this time around.
"Last year, nobody was expecting us to win," says Ovechkin. "But we win, and now everybody is going to play against us hard. The motivation is you just want to repeat and do it over and over. Those days we spent with the Cup are something we will never forget."
There is a bit of a cloud hanging over the Caps as the new season beckons. Washington winger Tom Wilson was handed a five-minute major and a match penalty for an open ice hit on St. Louis forward Oskar Sundqvist in the Caps' preseason finale on Sunday, and Wilson has a Wednesday morning hearing with the league's Department of Player Safety. It's an in-person hearing in New York, which means that Wilson will miss Wednesday's morning skate, and he can be suspended for six or more games.
With Wilson's status up in the air, the Caps dipped into the waiver wire waters on Tuesday, claiming winger Dmitrij Jaskin from St. Louis. A lefty shot who generally plays the right side, Jaskin is a good sized (6-foot-2, 217 pounds) forward who has played in 266 career games spread over seven seasons with St. Louis. The 25-year-old Jaskin, a native of Omsk, Russia, was the Blues' second-round (41st overall) choice in the 2011 NHL Draft.
"We were feeling a little vulnerable on our forward depth, depending on what happens with Tom at his hearing here," admits Caps general manager Brian MacLellan. "We like the player. We think the player has some upside. With the possible suspension of Tom, we're adding a big body that can make some plays and go to the net, and has a similar skills set to Tom."
Jaskin will take the ice with his new teammates for Wednesday's morning skate, but is unlikely to see action until he is more familiar with his new surroundings and the Caps' systems.
Boston was one of three postseason entrants from the Atlantic Division last season, and the Bruins should once again find themselves at or near the top of the Atlantic in 2018-19. Boston took out Toronto in a thrilling first-round series that went the full seven games, but the B's were ousted at the hands of the Lightning in the second round.
The Bruins took a run at free agent center John Tavares over the summer, but when it was all said and done, journeyman goaltender and ex-Capital Jaroslav Halak was probably their most significant offseason roster addition.
Over the last few seasons, the Bruins have been effective at injecting youth into their lineup, so Boston will likely count on continued growth and development from defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo and forwards David Pastrnak, Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Anders Bjork and Ryan Donato to keep it up near the top of the Atlantic. Each of those seven players is a recent vintage - since 2014 - Boston draft choice. Having turned 23 in July, Heinen is the greybeard of that youthful bunch.