Miroshnicheko Continues Impressive Run, Dubois & Roy Make Most Of Debuts, Shepard Struggles As Capitals Fall To Bruins

Cristall scored again and Dubois had an assist in the Capitals' 4-2 loss to the Bruins.

The Washington Capitals had more veterans in the mix as they took on the Boston Bruins in their second preseason game on Tuesday, and though there were some positives, D.C. would suffer another defeat.

Connor McMichael scored, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Matt Roy had decent debuts and Ivan Miroshnichenko and more impressed, but Hunter Shepard and the defense struggled to keep up with Boston in a 4-2 loss.

Here are all the takeaways from the defeat.

McMichael-Dubois-Wilson Line Gets On Board, Makes Noise In First Game Together

With Washington trailing 3-0 and the team in need of some kind of life, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Tom Wilson and Connor McMichael all got to work.

It started with some physicality from both Wilson and Dubois in tight, and as both battled in the crease, they got the puck to a waiting McMichael, who put home his first goal of the preseason to pull his team within two.

The projected second line had some strong moments throughout the game, as Dubois showcased his speed, size and ability to make clean entries and strong passes, while Wilson displayed his offensive instincts and physicality and McMichael brought his stickhandling and skill to the table.

It's still early, and head coach Spencer Carbery will likely try other combinations over the course of the preseason, but things looked promising to start for that trio as Wilson and Dubois, both 6-foot-4, complement each other well and work great with a skill player like McMichael.

Miroshnichenko Continues To Bring The Boom, Cristall Scores Again

Ivan Miroshnichenko came into this training camp with a tall task: to force Carbery's hand and make it difficult to send him back down to Hershey. And so far, that appears to be the case as he continues to look better and better with each day that goes by.

Miroshnichenko's been playing as if he's been shot out of a cannon. He's fast, smart with the puck and lays everything on the line shift after shift. He also had a big hit on Hampus Lindholm.

The 20-year-old resembles a young Alex Ovechkin and was confident as he skated alongside Aliaksei Protas and Hendrix Lapierre, while also logging time on the top power-play unit. He had a team-leading five shot attempts, too.

Then, there's Andrew Cristall, whose choices for this season are to either make the NHL out of camp or return to juniors for another year.

Cristall, though he was a bit quieter than he was on Sunday, in the final minute of regulation, buried a backdoor feed from Henrik Rybinski to make it a 4-2 hockey game for his second goal in as many games.

The 19-year-old made some strong passes, but head coach Spencer Carbery acknowledged postgame that he took "a bit of a step back" from Sunday. Still, he has done a solid job of putting himself on the radar as a player to watch.

Roy Sound On Backend, Bear Has Another Solid Showing

Matt Roy showed exactly why the Capitals inked him to a six-year contract this offseason, as he was an anchor on the blue line, logged heavy minutes and performed well at both ends of the ice.

The 29-year-old was steady on a shutdown pairing with Martin Fehervary, providing support and leading the team with 21:44 minutes of ice time. Roy also moved the puck effectively up the ice and joined the rush from time to time.

Another solid-looking defenseman: Ethan Bear. The 27-year-old, who is back in the mix and looking to stay up in D.C. after finishing last season in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, quarterbacked the power play and made some smart plays while logging the second-most ice time on the night. Didn't make a handful of big mistakes, either.

It was a bounce-back performance as he and some other names struggled in the preseason opener, and he showed that he can be a mobile defenseman and provide security at both ends.

Shepard Struggles In First Full Start Of Preseason, Priskie-Iorio On Ice For All Four Against

It wasn't the strongest game for Hunter Shepard, who started the full game after stopping 11 of 14 shots in half of Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

There were moments where he appeared to struggle when it came to tracking shots and staying with the play. Though he had some strong saves, and though he was left to dry on a handful of goals against, there were definitely moments where he appeared a bit shaky.

Meanwhile, the third defensive pairing of Chase Priskie and Vincent Iorio also experienced their share of woes. Though Iorio was physically involved and had some flashes of strong puck movement, he and Priskie were on the ice for all four goals.

Sammi's Top Shelf Takes

- Ilya Protas had a strong debut as he and brother, Aliaksei, played in their first professional hockey game together. The Belarus native had two shots, a hit and a block through 12:28 minutes of ice time and made some good plays, including a pass to his brother, who hit the post. "Little Pro" also won some puck battles and used his size to his advantage.

- "Big Pro" led the team with three shots on goal.

- Henrik Rybinski also had a strong game at center, and Pierrick Dubé looked fast and confident on the wing. Keep an eye on both of them; Rybinski has also been putting in work to make himself stand out, and he did so with a great assist tonight.

- It was good to see some physicality and battle from Dubois in his debut. Promising as he shows that he can play to his strengths

- Ethen Frank had a bit of a rough night, as he was a minus-2 and is a minus-5 through the first two games of the postseason.