CAPITALS TEAM C CAPTURED SCRIMMAGE 4-3 WIN

At Kettler Capitals Iceplex today, Team C (coached by Caps assistant Blaine Forsyth and goalie coach Arturs Irbe) captured a 4-3 victory over Team B (coached by Caps assistants Dean Evason and Bob Woods).

Semyon Varlamov started in goal for Team B, while Team C was represented by Michal Neuvirth.

"Matt Bradley and Brooks Laich lit the lamp for Team C as they took a 2-0 lead after the first stanza," described the Capitals' senior writer Mike Vogel. "Varlamov made a pair of dazzling stops prior to Laich’s goal, but was unable to corral the rebound on the second one, enabling Laich to tap the shrapnel into the open cage.

"Team B authored a second period comeback, evening the score at 2-2 on goals from Anton Gustafsson and Andrew Gordon. Gordon was the beneficiary of a terrific set-up pass from Mathieu Perreault, and he beat Neuvirth with a sharp wrist shot from the left circle."

But with only 66 seconds remaining in the middle frame, Team C moved back into the lead. "Defenseman Vladimir Denisov sprung Keith Aucoin on a breakaway with a brilliant home run pass and Aucoin tucked the puck through Varlamov’s five-hole," described Vogel. "Jason Bacashihua took over in goal for Team B and Todd Ford manned the nets for Team C as the third period got underway. Team B had a great chance for an early equalizer when perreault set up Steve Pinizzotto on a 2-on-1 early in the period. Pinizzotto got a shot off, but Bacashihua was able to get a piece of it with his glove.

"Team C picked up an insurance goal when David Steckel banged one past Ford off the post to make it 4-2. Team B pulled to within a goal later in the third. A strong shift by the line of Gordon, Perreault and Boyd Kane resulted in a goal when Gordon was able to lift a rebound past Bacashihua on his backhand.

"A late power play gave Team B a chance to even it up, but strong penalty killing by Bradley, Laich and Jay Beagle preserved the lead. A late rush by Team B’s Alexandre Giroux was snuffed by Team C blueliner Sean Collins, and the first two points of the tournament went to Team C."

Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau opined that Mathieu Perreault, Andrew Gordon, Patrick McNeill and Quintin Laing all performed extremely well for a first scrimmage, adding, "Usually the younger guys are the guys that stand out early. As much as we as coaches would love everybody to be at the top of their game right off the bat, the veterans take their time a little bit more.

“System-wise, they were really good,” said Boudreau of the two teams that scrimmaged on Monday. “I thought they were overly cautious with the systems in the first period. I thought they both did the neutral zone and the controlled breakout and forecheck and things like that – the only two things we worked on this week – really well. The other stuff will come, but that stuff was good.” Sphere: Related Content