"Zed's been back practicing less than a week, and he was flying out there – it's scary," said Capitals Coach Ron Wilson, who had been critical of the team's effort in a preseason game on Tuesday. He was more pleased tonight as the Capitals fought back from a 3-1 deficit entering the third period.
"We were skating," he said. "We fell asleep a couple of times, and sometimes that's a lack of respect, but I liked the way we responded."
The evening had a friendly atmosphere, with players and coaches from both teams catching up on each other's summers before the game in the hallway. Predators Coach Barry Trotz and his assistant, Paul Gardner, are former coaches of the Portland Pirates, Washington's minor league franchise, and Predators forwards Andrew Brunette and Todd Krygier played for the Capitals last season.
Trotz even brought along a wedding present for Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig, who got married over the summer. Before the game, Trotz acknowledged it was strange to see so many of his former players sitting on the opposing bench.
"It will be the first time I will root against them, but I had some great years there," he said. "You certainly root for them when they don't play against you, and it certainly won't be any different this year when Washington is playing someone else; there's a lot of friends on that team.
"I am waiting for some of the jabs that are going to go on between our bench and their bench. There are going to be a lot of players skating by who will say something, and between myself and Paul, we'll have to think of some jabs back."
Predators General Manager David Poile, who worked for Washington for 15 years, was not on hand to see his old team. Instead, he was back in Nashville working out a trade with Edmonton, although when reached by telephone before the game he predicted Brunette would score against his old team.
It took just 24 seconds for Brunette to oblige, but Zednik matched the score almost immediately by poking the puck past goaltender Mike Dunham at 1 minute 2 seconds of the first period. The Capitals got a scare later in the game when Nashville right wing Brad Smythe bowled into goaltender Rick Tabaracci, knocking Tabaracci's head against the post, but Tabaracci continued playing after an on-ice visit from trainer Stan Wong.
He was not as fortunate when defenseman Jamie Heward and right wing Blair Atcheynum scored in the first and second period, respectively, but left wing Brian Bellows started a Washington comeback just over a minute into the third period. Defenseman Calle Johansson tied the game at 3 about 10 minutes later, and Zednik scored the game-winner less than 1:30 after that.
Kryiger did not score but got some decent ice time; he is with Nashville on a tryout after becoming a free agent this summer.
"I just thought this was a really good situation, and we'll see how it turns out," he said. "This is a young team, and they need some veteran players. I've been in a lot of situations, good and bad, so I think I have a lot to share."
Capitals Notes: Wilson's father, Larry, used to coach a minor league team in Richmond, but when Wilson walked into the arena tonight it was an Elvis Presley concert, not an old hockey game, that popped into his mind. "It was 1972, but I remember that concert as if it was yesterday – I could take you right to the seats where we were," said Wilson, who was in college for most of the time his father was in Richmond. The Capitals gave their protected list to the NHL in preparation for Monday's waiver draft. Each team was allowed to protect 18 skaters and two goaltenders. Injured and unsigned players, such as Sergei Gonchar and Andrei Nikolishin, had to be included in the 18, but younger players such as Jan Bulis, Richard Zednik, Yogi Svejkovsky, Nolan Baumgartner and Matt Herr were exempt because they did not meet experience requirements.
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