BOSTON — For one night in a Washington Capitals season that has seen the spotlight trained on Alex Ovechkin, Ryan Leonard got to share it.
With Ovechkin, now just three goals behind Wayne Gretzky on the NHL’s career scoring list, Washington has extra media following them around with the record in sight.
That created added attention on Leonard’s NHL debut Tuesday at TD Garden. The Amherst native and former Boston College star joined the Capitals at TD Garden just two days after Denver knocked BC out of the NCAA Tournament.
Leonard’s new coaches and teammates were impressed by his first game, a 4-3 win for Washington. Here’s what they said.
Coach Spencer Carberry
“I thought he was excellent. I liked his game. A bunch of different touches he had. He obviously plays a big factor in the goal. I liked his touches in the neutral zone.
People have to remember college kids, they don’t get exhibition games. The Major Junior kids come and play their first NHL game and they’ve had five or six exhibition games. College kids have never even been to an NHL training camp.
To step into game, a couple days after his college season ends and play the way he did is pretty impressive. He showed a lot of good things.”
Alex Ovechkin
“I’m happy for him. He played solid. Physical. Controlled the puck well. He’s got a great future.”
Goalie Charlie Lindgren
“New young blood on the team is a good thing. He’ll be a really good addition to our team the way he plays. He plays hard. For his first game, pretty cool he was playing in Boston. His college season ended a couple days ago and he comes out and plays at TD Garden against the Bruins, his home town team. Really happy for him. He’s going to definitely add some life to our team.”
Dyland Strome
“He just brought a lot of energy. IN the first period, he was making big hits, a couple big plays, keeping pucks a love. He’s brought the little spark we needed. Nice to get a win for him in his hometown and obviously his first game.
It’s tough. he’s never even played in a preseason game. it’s tough to jump right in. He did a great job for what the task at hand was. It was a lot of fun. ”
- BETTING: Check out our MA sports betting guide, where you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.
