A debut for the ages: Tuch torches the champs

Alex Tuch waited five seasons in Buffalo for a stage like this. He needed 6:33 to make it his. In his first game as a Washington Capital, the 30-year-old winger scored twice in the opening period — a wrist shot off a Pierre-Luc Dubois forecheck strip and a backhand finish 14:23 in — and the Capitals never looked back in a 5-2 season-opening win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center.

The opener was vintage power-forward hockey. On the first goal, Dubois stripped the puck from Hurricanes goalie Brandon Bussi behind the Carolina net and fed a backhand pass to Tuch, who scored between the circles into an open net. "I don't think I've scored many of those goals in my career," Tuch said afterward. "That was really nice. Great play by 'Dubie' on the forecheck there." The Capitals acquired Tuch in a June sign-and-trade with the Sabres — eight years, $84 million — and if Friday was the down payment, Washington got a bargain.

Ovechkin, season 22 — and history in sight

Alex Ovechkin assisted on Tuch's opening goal, and with it opened his 22nd NHL season — at 41 years old, still driving the bus. The assist was the 759th of his career, moving him within three of Nicklas Backstrom's franchise record. Think about that for a moment: the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history is about to become the Capitals' all-time assists leader too. Every Ovechkin point from here on out is a brush with history, and Washington's new-look attack — with Tuch, Dubois, Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard all on the scoresheet — means he won't have to carry it alone.

The first period that buried Carolina

The Hurricanes never recovered from the opening 20 minutes. Tuch's two goals sandwiched a Cole Hutson snap shot, and Washington carried a 3-0 lead into the intermission. Jakob Chychrun made it 4-0 on a power play just 1:36 into the second. Sebastian Aho finally got Carolina on the board — a power-play goal with 3:10 left in the second, the Hurricanes' first goal of the entire season after nearly 102 scoreless minutes of game time to open their title defense — and Washington answered eight seconds later through Ryan Leonard. Logan Stankoven's third-period goal was cosmetic. The shots finished 33-27 Carolina, but the scoreboard never felt close.

Credit Spencer Carbery's group for the ruthlessness. "Fantastic start," the Washington coach said. "Right from puck drop, we liked a lot of the things we were doing early in the game. I thought we were handling their pressure. We got on their half [of the ice], capitalized early, attacked their net." Strome and Dubois each finished with two assists, and Logan Thompson stopped 31 shots for a .939 night.

The new faces everywhere you looked

It wasn't just Tuch making a first impression. Jordan Kyrou, Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais all made their Capitals debuts, and youngsters like Hutson and Leonard scored. This is a Washington team that spent the summer retooling on the fly around Ovechkin's twilight — adding size, speed and finish — and the early returns were emphatic. Chychrun, the offensive defenseman, added a goal and an assist while quarterbacking a power play that looked dangerous from the first shift. The Capitals opened their schedule three nights after most of the league; they looked anything but rusty.

The defending champs have a problem

Carolina is 0-1-1, and the start of the title defense has been ugly. Tuesday's 1-0 overtime loss at home to Florida was a goaltending duel; Friday was a capitulation. The Hurricanes didn't score until Aho's second-period power-play goal — 102 minutes into their season — and Bussi, playing his second game of the week, managed only 22 saves on 27 shots for an .815 night. The Canes more than doubled their shot output from the Florida game (15 to 33), but volume without finish is noise.

Rod Brind'Amour didn't sugarcoat it: "There's not a lot of positives out of that game. The start was not good. You get behind the 8-ball with kind of a freebie. You can't give good teams free goals. I thought we gave two of those up tonight. We have a couple guys who need to get their game up. When we've got 20 guys rolling, we're a good team. When we don't, it's too hard." The banner is in the rafters; the hangover is real.

What it means for Washington

One game doesn't win a division, but the Capitals' vision for this season was on full display: a heavier, deeper forward group that can score in waves, a power play with multiple weapons, and a goalie in Thompson who can steal the nights when the legs go. Tuch's fit alongside Dubois and Ovechkin looks instant. The East is a gauntlet, but Washington just walked into the champions' building and took all two points with something to spare. Next: at Tampa Bay on Saturday night, a back-to-back that will test the depth in a hurry.

What it means for Carolina

Panic would be premature — the Hurricanes were the last team standing in June, and Aho, Stankoven and the core that lifted the Cup haven't forgotten how. But 0-1-1 with one goal at even strength across two games is a genuine concern, and the schedule offers no breath: at Philadelphia on Saturday night. The Canes closed as -145 favorites on Friday and never led. The title defense starts for real now — and it starts with finding the net before the hole gets any deeper.