Wednesday Night Hockey: 5 Storylines

Fans will get their first look at the Washington Capitals as defending Stanley Cup champions and two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson as a member of the San Jose Sharks on the season-opening edition of "Wednesday Night Hockey."

The Capitals will begin defense of the championship they won by defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final when they play the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS). Karlsson, acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on Sept. 13, plays his first game with the Sharks against the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN).
Here are five storylines for the opening-night doubleheader:

Capitals ready for one last celebration

Before they open the 2018-19 season, the Capitals will celebrate their first championship since entering the NHL in 1974. They'll walk the red carpet in front of Capital One Arena in the afternoon and raise a championship banner before the puck drops for the new season. The challenge once the game starts will be to remember that their accomplishments last season mean nothing toward success this season. The schedule maker didn't give the Capitals an easy start. After playing the Bruins, who finished fourth in the NHL last season with 112 points, Washington plays at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

Reirden makes coaching debut

The cast that will play for the Capitals is almost the same as the one that skated off with the Cup at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on June 7. The biggest difference will be a new coach. Barry Trotz resigned June 18 and was replaced by Todd Reirden, who had been an associate coach under Trotz. Reirden has been part of Washington's staff for the past four seasons, so familiarity shouldn't be a problem. However, he's never been a coach at any level, and he faces the challenge of being the first coach since Dave Lewis with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 to take over a team coming off a Stanley Cup championship.

Bergeron set to go for Bruins; Krug still out

Patrice Bergeron is expected to be in the lineup for the Bruins after missing almost all of training camp and not playing in any preseason games. Bergeron, one of the best two-way centers in the NHL, had offseason groin surgery and was hampered by back spasms during camp. But he centered his usual linemates, left wing Brad Marchand and right wing David Pastrnak at practice this week, and coach Bruce Cassidy said he anticipates having Bergeron in the lineup. The Bruins will be without defenseman Torey Krug, a key to the power play, because of a left ankle injury sustained in a preseason game Saturday; he's expected to miss three weeks. However, the Bruins say it's not related to the fractured ankle he sustained against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Karlsson's arrival fuels big expectations for Sharks

Karlsson will make his regular-season debut with San Jose, a team expected to make a long playoff run, after appearing in two preseason games. He'll play with Marc-Edouard Vlasic, one of the best shutdown defensemen in the NHL, and will be paired with Brent Burns on the top power-play unit. Karlsson is favored by an NHL.com panel
to win the Norris Trophy
as the top defenseman in the NHL. His arrival has raised expectations for a team that has never won the Stanley Cup and was eliminated by the Golden Knights in the Western Conference Second Round.

Ducks need young forwards to step up

The Ducks tinkered with their roster during the offseason without making any major additions or subtractions, but they took a hit last week when top-line right wing Corey Perry had knee surgery that's expected to keep him out for five months. However, the 33-year-old dropped to 17 goals last season, and his absence figures to give younger, faster forwards such as Jakob Silfverberg, Ondrej Kase and Troy Terry a chance to show that they're worthy of more quality ice time. The Ducks were tied for 18th with the Dallas Stars in scoring last season (2.82 goals per game) and need some of their young forwards to step up.