Caps pick up in bubble right where they left off

TORONTO — It was only an exhibition, but for the first time in 143 days, the Washington Capitals put on their red sweaters, laced up their skates and played an actual hockey game Wednesday afternoon.

And while the Capitals’ 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes brought a resounding sense of familiarity on the ice — notably a two-goal, one-assist outing by captain Alex Ovechkin — there was also an abundance of irregularities.

Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic that moved the NHL’s postseason plans entirely into the two hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton, there were no fans in the stands at Scotiabank Arena. There were no roars from the crowd, no flashy pregame intros. Instead, there just was the sounds of skates cutting into the ice, bodies banging against the boards and the familiar blare of the goal horn. The seats where fans normally sit in the lower bowl were covered with gray tarps and large video screens are set up in the stands behind the benches.

The piped-in crowd noise, that murmur that viewers are hearing on their television screens, is not being played inside the arenas. It’s a new feel for players and coaches alike, and Wednesday, it was the Capitals’ first taste of postseason play in unprecedented circumstances.

“Obviously, it was very important for us to feel the rhythm, feel the atmosphere, how it’s going to be during the playoffs. It was kind of weird but nothing we can do right now, right,” Ovechkin said after the game. “We just play our game and try to feel the ice and try to feel the puck.”

And while there is still a fragility that comes with the NHL’s restart, with the novel coronavirus pandemic still raging on and the pandemic’s death toll approaching 150,000 in the United States, the first three days of the NHL’s restart has brought a wave of optimism among players, spectators and health experts. There is an overwhelming sense that playing in a bubble can work, and so far, the players have said they are feeling that needed sense of safety. Now, they say, their attention has turned to hockey.