Washington Capitals vs Boston Bruins LIVE

After reaching the Eastern Conference semi-finals last season, neither the Boston Bruins nor the Washington Capitals were poised to make any major off-season moves. In fact, both teams did very little besides a few lateral moves and seem confident to make another post-season run heading into this year’s NHL campaign. Thus, the Bruins will host the Capitals in their home opener at TD Banknorth Garden on Thursday at 11 p.m. GMT.

Given the talent on board of both teams, it is no surprise that nothing spectacular happened over the summer. However, it should be mentioned that the Bruins were willing to give up their dynamic forward Phil Kessel in exchange for several draft picks. Last year, Kessel managed to score 36 goals and added 24 assists for a total of 60 points in just 70 games. Even though said first round draft picks could turn out to be more valuable in the long run, the trade will most likely weaken the Bruins’ squad this year.

In contrast, the Washington Capitals made a few minor adjustments which might help them to become a true contender in 2009-10. More specifically, the D.C. based franchise added some more scoring off the bench through the acquisition of center Brendan Morrison and right wing veteran Mike Knubble. With 47 and 31 points respectively last year, both players can be expected to increase the Capitals’ offensive firing power. Likewise, General Manager George McPhee managed to resign no less than 11 players to keep the core of the team together.

Therefore, it appears to be a justified assumption that this match-up may result in a fairly close game down the stretch. Both sides feature multiple NHL All-Stars in Alexander Ovechkin and Marc Savard as well as a fair share of capable role players who fit well in their respective system. While it remains to be seen which team will come out of this hard-nosed battle with a victory, the audience will most likely get to watch an exciting NHL season opener.  

You can watch all games of the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming.