POSTGAME NOTEBOOK: Caps 7, Bruins 0

A Banner Night - They won the Stanley Cup on June 7, they had a glorious downtown parade on June 12, and Caps players had their personal days with the Cup throughout the summer. With the start of another regular season upon us and the shortest and most wonderful summer of their lives behind them, Wednesday night was the time for the Caps to have one last shimmering celebration of last spring's grand accomplishment, and to share their revelry with their rabid, red-clad fan base.

Like virtually everything associated with the Caps' first Cup title, Wednesday's pregame Stanley Cup banner raising and ceremony exceeded dreams and expectations, and stirred up a fair amount of dust in the eyes of thousands of onlookers. John Walton and Ted Leonsis spoke eloquently and poignantly about the heartaches of seasons past and what this championship means for the organization, the fans and the greater Washington area. A few sublime videos were shown, documenting the Caps' remarkable springtime run to the Cup and their summer-long bacchanal afterward.
Players were introduced with captain Alex Ovechkin taking the ice last, and with the Cup held triumphantly aloft. He took a spin around the perimeter of the arena, the first time the coveted chalice has been skated by a player in a Caps' sweater; Washington won all four of its playoff series on the road last spring.
Finally, the banner was raised partially, and the Caps assembled for one last team photo - the players, the Cup and the banner. Anyone who was there will never forget it.
As soon as it was over, the Capitals collectively went completely Bob Seger - they turned the page.
Washington took a 1-0 lead before the game was half a minute old, and it rolled to a 7-0 stomping of the Boston Bruins in the 2018-19 season opener. The Caps scored four power-play goals and got even-strength markers from three of their four lines to give goaltender Braden Holtby a banquet's worth of offensive support in notching his 33rd career shutout.
"We talked about enjoying the special moment," says Caps right wing Devante Smith-Pelly, "but making sure that we were ready to go at the start. It's safe to say we were ready to go."
Seven Up - Washington's 7-0 shellacking of the Bruins set an NHL record for largest shutout victory by a defending Stanley Cup champion in its season opener. The Caps also established a franchise record for most goals in a season opener; they've scored six goals on opening night on four occasions, most recently on Oct. 9, 2003 when they trounced the New York Islanders, 6-1.
The 800 Club - Backstrom made a typically perfect feed to set up Oshie's early goal, notching the 800th point of his NHL career in the process. He joins Alex Ovechkin (1,124) and Peter Bondra (825) as just the third player in Caps franchise history to reach that plateau.
Backstrom added two more helpers later in the game, marking the 39th time in his NHL career that he has notched three or more assists in a game.
That's One - Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season on a Washington power play in the second period. The goal was number 608 of Ovechkin's career, tying him with former Capital and Hockey Hall of Famer Dino Ciccarelli for 18th on the NHL's all-time list, just two back of Bobby Hull, whose 610 goals place him 17th.
Ovechkin now has 230 career power-play goals, just two behind Ciccarelli for 10th place on the league's all-time list in that department.
The Caps' captain has now scored in three straight season openers - he had a hat trick on opening night in Ottawa last season - and his 10 career opening night tallies ties him with Toronto's Patrick Marleau for the most among active players.
Powering Up - Washington's stellar power play outfit came out of the gates roaring on Wednesday, scoring on each of its first four opportunities of the evening. The four-goal extra-man outburst was the Caps' first in nearly five years, since Nov. 5, 2013 in a 6-2 win over the New York Islanders.
"We've got an extremely talented group," says Caps coach Todd Reirden, "so you didn't see a lot of different personnel out there from us tonight, but you did see some different looks from us, and I think that's something that we were able to add to our game as the playoffs went on last year, whether it's different players exchanging positions in face-off plays and different looks against certain alignments.
"So you saw a little sneak peek at some things that we've talked about adding to our power play group this year and making them a little bit more unpredictable at times, because everyone has seen that alignment and now we're giving it some different looks. It certainly was a huge part of our success tonight."
John Carlson scored then fourth of those power-play goals, a five-on-three tally that showcased what Reirden describes. As the Caps were moving the puck around the Boston zone, Carlson and Ovechkin changed places, Carlson temping in Ovi's office and Ovechkin manning center point. In a reversal of roles, Ovechkin put a pass in Carlson's wheelhouse, and the defenseman cranked a one-timer from the left dot that must have made the captain proud.
Go Fourth - Washington's fourth line for Wednesday's opener consisted of Smith-Pelly, Nathan Walker and newcomer Nic Dowd. The trio got off to a strong start against the B's, forechecking effectively and contributing a goal - a slick backhander from Dowd - to the cause in the second period. Dowd and Smith-Pelly worked well together on the penalty kill, too.
"Those two guys, they're easy to play with," says Smith-Pelly. "They're speedy and tenacious on the puck, and both guys are always in the right spot. So I just have to go up and down my wing, go to the net and forecheck, and we've worked pretty well together so far."
You'll Get Nothing And Like It -Holtby shutout the Bruins for the fourth time in his career, matching the most whitewashes he has had against a single opponent. He also has four career shutouts against New Jersey.
With 33 career shutouts, Holtby trails Olie Kolzig (35) by just two on Washington's all-time list.
Baker's Dozen - Including Holtby, who earned a power-play assist in Wednesday's game, the Caps had 13 players earn at least a point in the win over the Bruins. Backstrom led the way with three points while Kuznetsov (two goals), Ovechkin (one goal, one assist), Oshie (one goal, one assist) and John Carlson (one goal, one assist) each had two.
Winning The First One -Reirden became the first Washington coach to earn a victory in his coaching debut with the team since Bruce Boudreau on Nov. 23, 2007.
By The Numbers -Carlson led the Caps with 24:06 in ice time and 5:20 worth of power play time … Ovechkin, Kuznetsov and Brett Connolly had five shots on net each to pace the Caps … Dmitry Orlov led the Caps with three blocked shots … The Caps won only 19 of 60 face-offs (32%) on the night ... The Caps have won 13 straight games against the Bruins, oustscoring Boston 48-19 in the process.