BOSTON — When Ryan Leonard took the ice at TD Garden for his first NHL warmups, helmetless and grinning ear to ear, he did so backed by a raucous cheer from Boston College teammates and a legion of friends and family on hand for his professional debut.
Last week, Leonard was still skating for the Eagles. On Tuesday night, a day after signing his entry-level contract, he wore a different eagle on his shoulder, the eighth overall pick from the 2023 draft taking the ice for the Washington Capitals in a game for the first time against the Boston Bruins.
Though Leonard didn’t record a point in a 4-3 win over the Bruins, he was on the ice when center Dylan Strome scored a go-ahead goal in the third period — and celebrated almost as enthusiastically as if he had scored himself. Captain Alex Ovechkin scored the 891st goal of his career, leaving him four goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894.
Goaltender Charlie Lindgren stopped 21 of 24 for Washington (48-17-9), which snapped a three-game skid. Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves for Boston (30-36-9).
“It was pretty cool,” said Leonard, who became the first top-10 draft pick to debut with the Capitals since Karl Alzner in 2007. “My first lap, I looked to my right and there was a couple of my teammates on the glass. They had told me it was going to happen and they were going to be there, but it didn’t really sink in until that first lap.”
“I thought he was excellent,” Capitals Coach Spencer Carbery said. “Liked his game, a bunch of different touches he had. He obviously played a big factor in the goal that was going to be the game-winner. Liked his plays through the neutral zone. … To step into a game a couple days after his college season ends and to play the way he did, it’s pretty impressive. Showed a lot of good things in his first game.”
Leonard was in the starting lineup, standing on the blue line for the national anthem and taking in the scene around him. He played in this building a handful of times in college, most notably in the Beanpot, but playing in an NHL arena and playing in an NHL game are two different things. His first shift was short, just 32 seconds, and his only shot attempt of the opening frame missed wide.
But after a lifetime of anticipation in general, and almost two years of specific anticipation about becoming a Capital, Leonard was an NHL player. Late in the first period, he laid a hit on Jeffrey Viel in the neutral zone that drew gasps; Leonard has never been shy, and that held true in his first NHL game.
Center Nic Dowd gave the Capitals the lead at 13:32 of the first period with a shorthanded goal, a wrist shot off the rush that he fired cleanly over Swayman’s shoulder. It had been a choppy first period to that point, with Washington struggling to find a flow or generate momentum.
Dowd’s goal came just 10 seconds into a penalty against defenseman Dylan McIlrath for cross-checking, so the Bruins had 1:50 of power play remaining afterward. But David Pastrnak took a hooking penalty against defenseman Rasmus Sandin that ended the man advantage early, allowing the Capitals to get Ovechkin on the ice.
As the Bruins paid attention to Washington’s passing on the right side of the ice, Ovechkin sneaked down to the doorstep of the net with little notice. Strome noticed — and slipped a pass across the crease to set Ovechkin up for a wide-open tap-in.
Washington finished the first period leading 2-0 on the scoreboard and 11-4 in shots on goal. The second period was messier, with Boston pushing back and the Capitals losing their grip on the proceedings.
Vinni Lettieri drew the Bruins within a goal at 6:05 as he capitalized on a strange bounce that led to the puck being free in the slot in front of Lindgren.
The Capitals had another abbreviated power play midway through the period, again the result of a penalty on Pastrnak. Ovechkin had a look from his office in the left faceoff circle that Swayman stopped; at the 11:29 mark, it was Washington’s first shot on goal in the second period.
Boston went back on the power play at 15:25 after defenseman Jakob Chychrun held Bruins forward Johnny Beecher. The penalty kill began with another shorthanded scoring chance for the Capitals, this time from Aliaksei Protas, but Swayman made the save.
And at 17:11, in a moment that began to feel inevitable, Pastrnak knotted the game at 2.
“We’ve got to be careful. I’ll keep most of it in house,” Carbery said. “There’s momentum swings in hockey games. It’s going to happen. Mistakes are going to happen. But we have got to figure out a way — especially down the stretch, and I understand where we’re at and where guys’ minds and heads are at — but you have to be able to change momentum in a game. … They heard from me multiple times through that second period, and we could not change the momentum.”
Lindgren had to make a point-blank save on Elias Lindholm just under five minutes into the final period after the Bruins passed the puck through McIlrath’s legs to Lindholm sliding into space at the net front. Swayman then robbed defenseman John Carlson with a diving glove save at the side of the net.
Strome broke through the back-and-forth slog with a goal at 10:37 of the third, capping an aggressive shift. Leonard kept the play alive several times with puck recoveries and smart passing to the top of the zone, which eventually led to defenseman Martin Fehervary feeding Protas for a shot that turned into a rebound opportunity for Strome.
“Just tried to battle in front. Keep getting the puck low to high and then a nice play to the middle,” Leonard said. “Then Stromer tapped it in. It’s always fun, scoring.”
A fluky play off the rush gave the Capitals a two-goal advantage at 14:44. Winger Tom Wilson was looking for defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk on a two-on-one, but his pass instead deflected off Boston’s Mason Lohrei and into the net.
Seconds later, Pastrnak scored his second of the game to get the Bruins back within one.
With under two minutes left, Boston pulled Swayman for an extra attacker. Ovechkin had a look at the empty net but shot the puck wide, and it was the only look he had before the game ended.
“What is it, four now? Getting close,” Carbery said. “Getting close. You can feel it. You can definitely feel it. If that empty-netter — yeah, it’s getting close.”
