Last year the Caps came out of training camp and into the first game of the season with high expectations for the campaign ahead – and proceeded to lay an egg of epic proportions in Atlanta, to the tune of a 7-4 beating.

One year later, one year older and wiser and draped with even higher expectations, the Caps walked into Boston and laid down an opening night beating of their own.

There were some shaky moments in the beginning – first night jitters, adjusting to regular season pace, being the visitor in a (somewhat) pumped up building, etc. But it was nothing that got away from them and after surviving the first half of the opening frame, things started to settle in. A simple, efficient, and deadly attack combined with team defense executed almost flawlessly – and the first two points of the year go on the board.

Some other game 1 thoughts:

- Quick, who had Brooks Laich scoring the first goal of the season? And for all two of you, how many of you had him scoring twice? At the Caps Convention Laich joked that his personal goal was to get one more than Ovie – that might be a bit of a stretch, but he’s gotten off to a nice start.

- Now about that #8 guy…a fairly typical game for him. Not in a bad way, of course. Just another run of the mill, two goal, three point night with plenty of shots (5), plenty of shots that missed or were blocked (8), and plenty of hits (3).

- Nice use of the bench by Boudreau tonight, with everyone getting into the game for good stretches – even down to call-up Boyd Kane, who looked comfortable if not particularly showy in his 9:12 of ice time. Mike Green led all defensemen with just over 24 minutes, which is just about right for him, while Ovechkin’s 20:14 led all forwards (and was still perfectly reasonable).

- Speaking of Mike Green, he had a very smart game tonight. Smart on both ends of the ice, with some excellent defensive plays to back up his usual slick skating style. And what made his performance particularly good was that he didn’t sacrifice one for the other.

- Ovechkin’s second goal was somewhat ridiculous, from the great cross-rink pass courtesy of Tom Poti to the lightning fast release while having Lucic draped all over him. Did you see the shot leave his stick? No? It’s okay, neither did Tim Thomas.

- Team defense. Hello, gorgeous.

- Jose Theodore didn’t have to save the team’s collective rear ends thanks to the aforementioned gorgeousness, but he did look very calm, very positionally sound and completely without rust. The one goal he allowed was one in which he did everything he could but was simply beaten by a good play, and he did have a couple of ten bell saves – a much better start to the year for Jose.

- Yes, folks. It’s true. Having a healthy Chris Clark, Tom Poti and Brian Pothier in the lineup does in fact make a positive difference.

- Congrats to Brooks Laich, who gets his 60th (and 61st) career goal tonight by doing what he does best – going to the paint. Nice hands on that first one, too. I’d like to think it was in honor of CC’s dad’s 60th birthday…what? Leave me to my illusions, thank you.

- Laich’s whole line was doing some nice things all night, with Morrison and Knuble looking more than acclimated to their new team and playing exactly the type of games they’ve been brought here to play.

- There are nights when the so-called “Care Bear Line” of Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin can give us fits, with the overly cute passes and the defensive lapses. And then there are nights like this, when they make plays that are just cute enough to be jaw-dropping, plays that can make opposing defensemen look ridiculous. Case in point: the ridiculous passing play that led to Ovechkin’s first strike. Just…holy crap.

- If the power play looks like that all season – scratch that, if both special teams look like that all season – this team is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

- The Caps didn’t allow more than 10 shots in a period all night, and only 3 shots (including the goal) made their way to Jose in the third period. They blocked 13 shots, which is good, but what was more impressive was the fact that the shots the Bruins were able to take came largely from the perimeter. Everything was angled out, away, up, with surgical precision.

- Hard to tell if the Caps just took them out of the game or the sound just didn’t translate on TV, but the Garden wasn’t exactly rocking. Verizon Center can easily top that come Saturday night.

Is it just me or does there seem to be an air of maturity around this team that maybe wasn’t there last year? There’s still the excitement, the fun, the celebrations – you’re not going to stop Ovechkin and Green from pouncing on guys, that’s a given. But beyond that there also seems to be a unanimous sense that there is a job to do. They know as well as the rest of us that this is just one game down, 81+ to go.

Still, it’s a nice way to start the season.