Ovie and the Caps, quite literally, got off to a flying start in Boston.
(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Capitals 4, Bruins 1: It’s been a rough few months for D.C. sports — a summer of futility at Nationals Park, the Wizards’ dreadful season, Georgetown missing the tournament, the Redskins losing to the Lions, and so on, and so on. Will the Capitals be the messianic force that leads us out of the dark times? If they play like they did last night in Boston all year, then they might just be such an answer to those prayers. Washington bossed the game against a pretty decent Boston hockey club last night, looking even better than the team that many thought could go all the way last season. Already up 2-0 after two periods, the Caps scored twice in the opening two minutes of the third period to put things out of reach. It was a fantastic game for the team’s top offensive talent, as Alexander Ovechkin (two goals and an assist) opened his 2009-10 account with a big deposit, as did Nicklas Backstrom (three assists) and Alex Semin (two helpers). But the Caps also flexed their considerable muscle on the power play — Brooks Laich scored twice with the man advantage — as Boston looked undisciplined; a too many men on the ice penalty led to Laich’s opening goal. All in all, it was a romping victory for a team which many are counting on to put something positive back into this town’s sporting consciousness.

Nationals 2, Braves 1: More positivity! Remember a few days ago, when I said that the Nationals should try to end their season on a good note by simply finishing the last 13-game stretch over .500? Well, here they are, on their way to doing just that, after another win — their fourth in a row — eliminated the Braves from playoff contention and put them at 5-5 with three games to go. It’s been a fantastic week for Nationals youngsters, and Pete Orr continued that trend, with the winning RBI single in the top of the ninth. Starter Garrett Mock also was impressive, only allowing one run in six innings.