We all know that one of the important parts of preseason is getting the new guys comfortable with the team. In Wednesday’s 3-2 win, both Radko Gudas and Richard Panik scored, much to the delight of coach Todd Reirden who stressed the importance of contributions from players other than, you know, Alex Ovechkin and Nick Backstrom (more on him later).
“…I thought was great for our team was that you have Gudas scores a goal and Panik scores a goal,” Reirden said after the game. “We talked before the game about their first time wearing the Caps jersey, and even though it’s not a regular season game and they’re not first-year pros, it’s still kind of a fun challenge for them and an exciting time for them coming to a new team and that’s something I emphasized after the game.