The best word to describe the Washington Capitals' first period against the Nashville Predators Tuesday is "vintage."
Alex Ovechkin's breakaway and Nicklas Backstrom's wraparound goal have given the Caps a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes.
Ovechkin's 11th goal of the season (and only his second at home) came at 7:42. The play started when John Carlson fed the puck to Karl Alzner in the defensive zone. Meanwhile, Ovechkin sealed his defender off, spun around him along the boards and took Alzner's breakout pass all the way to a goal past Anders Lindback.
About nine minutes later, Backstrom added to the Caps' lead when he took the puck from the faceoff dot around the net, shedding Jerred Smithson in the process. Backstrom then had plenty of space to put his wraparound past Lindback for his 12th goal of the season and 99th of his career.
Washington entered the game having scored only one goal in each of its last three games.