What’s important about last night’s 4-1 Washington Capitals victory is not that they scored four goals, but how they scored them.

All of last year there was a call for more “dirty goals” by the Caps. While the pretty goals were fun to watch, almost everyone knew that they wouldn’t bring home a Stanley Cup. In the playoffs, the scrums in front of the net and doorstep goals that win games, just look at the Pittsburgh Penguins who killed the Caps through the whole series with Sidney Crosby doorstep pop-ins.

There may be a change in play style in Washington this year. Last night we saw our typical pretty and amazing Alex Ovechkin goals, but we also saw two side of the net tap-ins from Brooks Laich. Many thought that it would the addition of Mike Knuble that would provide these types of tallies. The fact of the matter is the Caps may have a number of players they can plug into the role.

The fact that the goals were scored on the power play is just icing on the cake. If the team can keep this up they have a show at making it much farther than last year. While it is only one game, the team is certainly showing improvement over last year.