Ovechkin, Laich net 2 goals, 1 assist each, lead Caps to 4-1 win over Bruins in NHL opener

Ovechkin scores 2, leads Capitals to win in opener

BOSTON — Alex Ovechkin had two goals and an assist, and Jose Theodore stopped 19 shots to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night in the season-opener.

Brooks Laich added two goals and an assist, Nicklas Backstrom had three assists, and Alexander Semin had two for Washington, which had not won in Boston in regulation in 14 tries since 2000.

The Capitals led 2-0 after Ovechkin’s goal in the second, when he took a drop pass from Semin and wristed it past Tim Thomas. Washington put the game away with a pair of goals in the first 1:57 of the third period, when Laich scored on a power play before Ovechkin made it 4-0.

Ovechkin, the two-time defending NHL Most Valuable Player, shrugged off Milan Lucic and beat Thomas again.

Thomas, the defending Vezina Trophy winner as the league’s top goalie, made 30 saves.

The teams each won their division last season before being dumped out of the playoffs in the second round: Boston by Carolina, and Washington by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. But the Bruins team that had 116 points last year — the most in the Eastern Conference — shipped away leading goal-scorer Phil Kessel this summer.

And it looks as though they haven’t found a way to replace the offense. Only Patrice Bergeron’s goal with 12:04 left in the game kept Theodore from his 29th career shutout.

NOTES: Bruins coach Claude Julien is the reigning coach of the year. Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau won it in 2008. … Former New England Patriots linebacker Junior Seau rode the Zamboni between periods as part of the preparation for his show “Sports Jobs,” which will air on Versus in December. … Washington’s last regulation victory in Boston was Dec. 2, 2000. The Capitals went 3-0-1 against the Bruins last season. … Bobby Orr (1970-72) and Wayne Gretzky (1980-87) are the only players to win more than two straight Hart Trophies as the league MVP.