Caps come up short in Game 1 under Hunter

The first game of the Dale Hunter era ended the same way the final game of the Bruce Boudreau era did; with a loss.

The Capitals fell to the St. Louis Blues, 2-1, on Tuesday night for their ninth loss in 12 games and 10th in their last 16.

As they did on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres, the Capitals managed just one goal and no consistent offensive pressure as they struggled to get regular traffic in front of Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

There was noticeable difference in the effort the Capitals gave tonight, though. Early in the first period Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Matt Hendricks all made strong hits along the boards to get Blues' players off the puck, and the defense did a better job keeping the front of their net clean and allowed zero odd-man rushes.

Washington also didn't fold after allowing consecutive goals as they did near the end of Boudreau's tenure. I say that is an encouraging sign.

The biggest hustle play of the night had to go to Backstrom during a crucial point in the second period. With the Capitals on an extended five on three with Brooks Laich and Troy Brouwer in the penalty box, Backstrom worked along the near boards while drapped by two Blues players to gain possession of the puck which drew a penalty on St. Louis defensemen, Kevin Shattenkirk.

The penalty on Shattenkirk nullified the remainder of the five on three and the Capitals eventually killed the last part of Brouwers penalty.

However, some of the goaltending issues that have plagued this team the last month were a problem Tuesday as Vokoun allowed two fluke goals.

Vokoun was unable to locate an Alex Steen shot that rang off the crossbar and fell to his right in the crease. T.J. Oshie tapped the loose puck into the open net to tie the game.

In the second period, shortly after killing the Blues extended power play, Vokoun was unable to coral another rebound and a fluky bounce allowed Matt D'Agostini to easily score on the wrap around.

The Capitals did push hard in the third period and nearly tied the game on several occasions, but several nice saves from Halak prevented Washington from sending the game into overtime.

So, what do we know?

You can already see the Capitals playing harder. That is natural when a new coach comes along as a breath of fresh air has been provided. But, the Capitals were also noticeably nervous through the first ten minutes of the game, and a few admitted after the game they were happy to get this game out of the way as they can now concentrate on playing hockey.

Hunter even said after the game that it was good to see the team live as it allowed him to clearly see the areas the Capitals need to work on.

Another loss is disappointing, but fans need to understand that this is going to be a process. Hunter has only coached two guys on the current roster, whereas Boudreau had coached half the roster he took over to a Calder Cup in Hershey.

Time will tell whether or not Hunter will be able to restore the Capitals to the level that Boudreau took them too. But, if the effort continues to improve as Hunter learns his players, the turnaround may not take as long as it currently appears it will.