Aliaksei Protas and Trevor van Riemsdyk scored for the Capitals in a 2-0 win.
Aliaksei Protas and Trevor van Riemsdyk scored for the Capitals in a 2-0 win.
WASHINGTON — For the Washington Capitals, Saturday's preseason finale against the Boston Bruins was the final dress rehearsal before the real deal next week. For Andrew Cristall, it was so much more — it was the game of his life.
The 19-year-old had several looks, and Aliaksei Protas and Trevor van Riemsdyk got on the board while Charlie Lindgren and the Capitals held down the fort en route to a 2-0 victory over the Bruins.
Here are all the takeaways from the win.
Cristall Continues Making His Case
Spencer Carbery decided to use Saturday's preseason finale to take one final look at Cristall, who has stood out with an impressive training camp and has been making a lot of noise in order to make the opening night roster.
The youngster can either make the NHL out of camp or return to juniors for another year, as he's not yet eligible for the AHL. Cristall made the most of his final game, using his speed to his advantage, finding open space and generating quite a few chances.
Though Cristall didn't finish and couldn't get on the scoresheet, he still packed a lot of promise and looked good on the third line with Hendrix Lapierre and Aliaksei Protas. He finished with two shots and two hits through 10:24 minutes.
Looking at the situation, it seems that D.C. could be leaning in the direction of keeping him up for at least nine games to start the year and going from there.
Protas Takes Charge & Scores Shorthanded As PK Impresses, Power Play Can't Convert
On the special teams front, Washington got quite a few looks on the power play, but where the Capitals ended up converting was on the penalty kill.
Aliaksei Protas took advantage of an errant bounce off an offensive zone face-off, pushing the puck forward to himself before firing a quick shot past Brandon Bussi to make it 1-0 for D.C.
Protas looked strong on the penalty kill, while Tom Wilson and Connor McMichael also generated some chances the other way. On defense, Martin Fehervary and Matt Roy led the charge as a shutdown pairing as the Capitals went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
On the power play, Washington got a couple of looks, but D.C. suffered from a bit of overpassing and tough breaks. The Capitals went 0-for-3 on the man advantage as Pierre-Luc Dubois and more continue to find their footing with the new systems.
Notably, Alex Ovechkin didn't stay on the full two minutes, as Rasmus Sandin and Jakob Chychrun both manned the blue line on PP2.
Roy, Chychrun, Lindgren & Capitals Hold Down Fort, Capitals Get Pucks On Net
On the other side of the puck, the defensive pairings did a sound job, limiting the Bruins' preseason lineup to just 15 shots on goal over the course of the game.
Roy also stood out on the blue line as a sound presence on the backend with Chychrun, as both skated over 20 minutes as ice time leaders in the victory. Trevor van Riemsdyk also chipped in offensively, stepping up in the play and putting a backhander past Bussi to make it 2-0.
Charlie Lindgren overcame a shaky start to the preseason with a smooth showing against Boston, stopping all shots that came his way.
At the other end, Washington's lines worked well together and got pucks on net, managing 32 shots on goal. Taylor Raddysh, whose fourth line continues to tilt the ice offensively, led the Capitals with five shots, while Chychrun led with eight total shot attempts.
READ MORE ON THE HOCKEY NEWS
- Capitals mailbag: Who wins the extra forward role, Ovechkin's PP time and more
- Jakub Vrana feeling the love as he attempts to come back to Capitals
- Andrew Cristall can either make the NHL or return to juniors, and he's leaning toward the former
- Capitals ink Eriks Mateiko to entry-level contract
- Logan Thompson's new Capitals mask pays homage to childhood, franchise history
- Alex Ovechkin discusses why scoring has become so much more difficult in today's game, not stressing over Wayne Gretzky's record