The St. Louis Blues raised their 2019 Stanley Cup banner on Wednesday, but it was the Washington Capitals who ended up raising their hands in victory. The Capitals charged back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Blues 3-2 in OT to begin their season on Wednesday.
Here are a few quick observations from Washington’s 3-2 (OT) win over St. Louis:
Big season for Jakub Vrana?
As usual, the combination of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Tom Wilson provided big problems for the opposition.
The Capitals could be downright scarier if they find other lines that work almost as well, and Wednesday provided some optimism there. Via Natural Stat Trick, the line of Jakub Vrana, T.J. Oshie, and Lars Eller generated a dominant 73.33 Corsi For Percentage in that game. That puck possession translated to success on the scoreboard, as Vrana scored the OT game-winner (assisted by Oshie), while Eller generated two assists.
Ed Olczyk singled out Vrana multiple times during the NBCSN telecast, and it seems like he did so with good reason.
Alex Pietrangelo is going to be rich(er)
Pietrangelo didn’t begin the night as the defenseman on the Blues’ top power play unit -- that honor went to Vince Dunn, rather than Justin Faulk or Colton Parayko -- but that might be a look St. Louis would be wise to consider. He absolutely walloped the puck on the Blues’ second goal of the night:
Then again, with Ryan O’Reilly joining Pietrangelo on the second unit, maybe the Blues can just spread the wealth?
Alex Ovechkin: still a quick-strike threat
Ovechkin might be someone you can’t leave alone in the slot -- or allow access to in the slot -- when he’s 50. He remains that way at age 34, as he befuddled Jay Bouwmeester and others on his latest goal:
After the Blues generated a 7-5 shot advantage in the first period, the Capitals managed a 29-15 edge through the rest of the game. They looked like a hungry team, and possibly well-rested after that tough Round 1 loss to the Hurricanes last season.
MORE:
• Pro Hockey Talk’s Stanley Cup picks.
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.