Caps Triumph in Preseason Opener

Fleischmann's Two Goals Pace 4-1 Win
Boxscore

I know it's too early to say "I told you so," but Tomas Fleischmann's opening night performance is great start on his way to proving his worth to the Washington Capitals. Maybe we should trust Gabby on this one and stop writing off the talented Czech winger. That's all I'm going to say about "Flash."

Simeon Varlamov performed well in his NHL debut stopping all 20 shots he saw in the first twenty minutes of the game. He showed off his outstanding reaction speed and withstood a flurry at the end of the first period. Darren Machesney finshed off the game stopping 10 out of 11 shots over the final two periods. I think there is no doubt that Varlamov has the skills to play at the NHL level right now. The only thing stopping him from starting off the season with the big club is his adjustment not only to the american game and the smaller rinks, but the american culture as well. The Caps will bring him along slowly, but don't be surprised to see him with the big boys sooner rather than later.

Matt Bradley wore the "C" during the game, and showed off his offensive skills too with a nice goal against the Canes' number one netminder, Cam Ward. One of the reasons the Capitals decided to keep Bradley this offseason in place of Matt Cooke was because of his importance to the team off the ice. If he can provide a bit more offensively, like Cooke brought to the team last spring, it will be a great help to the Caps secondary scoring.

The Caps and the Canes square off again Thursday night in the preseason home opener at the Verizon Center.