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Gagne calling? Caps blank Bruins 4-0

Troy Brouwer, Mike Green, Jason Chimera

Washington Capitals’ Troy Brouwer, right, celebrates teammates Mike Green (52) and Jason Chimera after scoring the winning goal against the Boston Bruins in overtime during a preseason hockey game, Friday, Sept. 26, 2014, in Washington.The Capitals won 5-4. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

AP

Alex Ovechkin’s first goal of the 2014-15 season ended up being all that the Washington Capitals needed on Saturday as they beat the Boston Bruins 4-0.

The Bruins came into this campaign with serious questions about their offense and haven’t answered many of them so far. They’ve been limited to three goals in their first three games, leaving Chris Kelly to lament about “two poor, poor efforts” to the Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa.

Zdeno Chara believes that the Bruins need to keep their heads held high, as CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty reports.

There are some silver linings beyond the blanket “it’s super early” statements. They haven’t been dominated in puck possession these past two losses, according to Hockey Stats.ca’s numbers:

redboschart

capsboschart

You might chalk up Boston’s superior puck possession to score effects tonight - Washington was already up by two Ovechkin goals by the end of the first period - but at least the Bruins didn’t get dominated in every facet of the game.

The obvious key is to add some zip to the offense. The most obvious reason to be hopeful is that David Krejci is allowed to return to action, though he’s still considered day-to-day.

It’s a longer shot for this to make a difference, but the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi also reports that Simon Gagne might land an NHL deal with the team.

Shinzawa believes that nights like these will only improve his chances:

Either way, the Bruins are coming out of hibernation a little slowly so far, yet only the most reactionary would full-on panic.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins