Hagens Shootout Winner Sinks Caps in Preseason Opener
Logan Thompson made 28 saves in Boston, but Charlie McAvoy's late equalizer and a James Hagens shootout goal handed Washington a 3-2 loss Sunday.
Washington twice took a one-goal lead in Boston on Sunday afternoon and twice watched it disappear, losing 3-2 in a shootout in the preseason opener for both clubs.
Charlie McAvoy forced overtime with a center point drive with 1:43 left in the third, with Michael DiPietro pulled for an extra attacker. James Hagens scored the only goal of the shootout.
Logan Thompson finished with 28 saves and looked the part of a goaltender who wanted work in every situation. He stopped all seven shots in the first period, including a Hagens look off the rush in the opening minute and a Lukas Reichel chance from the slot.
"All things considered, I think that's probably the perfect preseason game you want to see," Thompson said. "I had a kind of a little bit everything, five-on-three, some big penalty kills, and the shootout. From my standpoint, I think I got touches in every area I want to."
Both Caps goals came four seconds after a power play expired. Jonny Brodzinski buried a one-timer from the left circle at 8:48 of the first off a Ivan Miroshnichenko feed, and Miroshnichenko himself restored the lead on a goalmouth scramble at 5:34 of the third.
Boston answered both times off face-off wins in the Washington end. Jake Schmaltz scored from the slot in the dying seconds of a Bruins power play in the second, converting a Riley Duran pass from behind the net, and McAvoy tied it late.
DiPietro stopped 30 shots, eight of them in overtime, four on a Washington power play.
"I thought it was okay at times," Caps coach Spencer Carbery said of the special teams. "I thought our kill did a real good job. Obviously, on that five on three in the third period gives us a chance to win the game, but then there were some other parts not so good."
Carbery called the night "a little bit ugly in all facets," then added the obvious caveat: "Thankfully it's preseason. We'll learn, we'll take the film from it."
It was the first of four exhibition games on Washington's schedule. Around the league, the shortened four-game preseason got rolling across the weekend, with the regular season opening for most teams in early October.
