Throughout the first two days of the Washington Capitals Prospect Development Camp, every prospect has had an opportunity to establish themselves. On Wednesday afternoon in front of a large crowd at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Group A (White) and Group B (Red) took to the ice for their first scrimmage. Four different players scored for Red as they defeated White 4-2.
The first period was played with a running clock, while the last two featured normal stoppages. Caleb Herbert opened the scoring midway through the first period to give Red a 1-0 lead, but Andrew Cherniwchan tied the game at 1-1 just before the period ended.
"They played hard," Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "There was a lot more physical contact then the last two development camps, at least early on in the first games."
Both teams played much tighter defensively in the second period. Stanislav Galiev, who earlier in the period missed a wide-open net while on a two-on-one with Mattias Sjogren, redeemed himself by jamming in a puck in the crease to give Red a 2-1 lead after two periods.
"It was a great game," Galiev said. "I'm happy I scored. It was a good pass by [Travis] Boyd and just had to shoot the puck."
The third period featured much more scoring as Boyd's redirection and Aaron Schmit's tap-in gave Red a commanding 4-1 lead. Right after Schmit's goal, Red's Garrett Ross and White's Dustin Stevenson exchanged blows in an even fight. Garrett Mitchell cut White's deficit to 4-2, but it was too late as Red held on to win.
The two teams will face off in two more scrimmages. The first will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday and the second 10 a.m. on Saturday.