In the days prior to the Capitals’ season opener, Coach Bruce Boudreau said that he wanted to see more from the team’s second-year center Marcus Johansson. Boudreau reinforced that message when he made Johansson a healthy scratch against the Hurricanes Saturday night and played Mathieu Perreault instead.

Message received.

“It was not fun,” Johansson said. “You always want to play. I was not happy at all but we won the game and it’s a new day. Got to keep fighting and honestly, I just want to play. It’s not fun [to sit out].”

The last time the Washington Capitals faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning they were on their way out of the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring.

While no game in October, or the regular season, can make up for being swept out of the playoffs by the Lightning in the playoffs last year facing the team that knocked them out this early in 2011-12 presents an interesting opportunity for the Capitals.

“We owe them a good game,” Mike Green said. “They obviously took us down last year in four and that’s something you don’t forget. Doesn’t mean we’re gunning out there for anybody, just means that we’re going to play our hardest game and make sure we challenge them.”

Coach Bruce Boudreau said “it’s still the plan” for veteran Tomas Vokoun to make his regular season debut for the Capitals Monday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Vokoun has played 632 regular season NHL games in his career, but stepping out on to the ice with his new team is something he’s looking forward to even if it came two days later than he initially expected it would.

“It’s the first game for new team, before every game you get kind of nervous but that’s normal no matter how many games you play. If it matters to you, you’re going to get a little nervous,” Vokoun said. “I’m just going to go out and enjoy myself. It just is a game you have to a certain point enjoy yourself you have to do all this stuff practicing training and all that and the game should be the reward.”

They’ve only played together for two games, if you count the preseason, but the line of Jason Chimera, Brooks Laich and Joel Ward already seems to possess the chemistry of a group that’s spent months or more as one unit. The rapid assimilation between the three isn’t something that surprises Coach Bruce Boudreau much, though.

“All three of them are hard workers,” Boudreau said after Saturday’s 4-3 overtime win. “They’re not like cute players so it’s easier to come together there because they’re like a meat and potatoes line.”

Editor’s note: Welcome to a new feature that will appear about every other Sunday on Page 2 of the paper. In the future, this column on all things NHL will appear online every other Thursday, so keep an eye out.

On the fence about buying that expensive cable package that lets you watch 40 out-of-town NHL games a week? I was . . . until I realized how many subplots there are to follow this winter. Here are the five story lines I’ll be watching:

Winnipeg

(Marianne Helm - GETTY IMAGES) The Jets might stink this season, but I’m not sure anyone in “The Peg” is going to care. They’ve got NHL hockey back.

They’re sold out and the attractive, redesigned jerseys are selling like Honey Dip Timbits. But how long do the Jets have to get things turned around before the novelty wears off?

Remember, this is a franchise that has played exactly four postseason games in 12 seasons, has Ondrej Pavelec as its starting goaltender and will count on Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Evander Kane and former Capital Eric Fehr, among others, to carry an offense that ranked 20th in goals per game last season (2.66).

The Jets open Sunday afternoon at home against Montreal.

(Toni L. Sandys - WASHINGTON POST)

Mike Green scored the winner in tonight’s 4-3 victory over Carolina and was named the first star. But the game might not have gotten to that point without the stellar play of goalie Michal Neuvirth, who stopped all four Hurricanes’ shots in overtime.

Three of the shots Neuvirth faced in the extra session – a snap shot by Jussi Jokinen, a tip from Joni Pitkanen and a wrist shot off the stick of Jeff Skinner – came as the Caps killed off a 4-on-3 Hurricanes’ power play.

“In the overtime he was great,” Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “That’s when you need the big saves from your goalie, when you’re down 4 [men on] 3 in overtime. It was crunch time.”

Alexander Semin was relieved that his teammates managed to kill off the boarding penalty he was assessed at the end of regulation in tonight’s 4-3 overtime win over the Hurricanes. But the Caps winger questioned whether he should have been in the penalty box at all.

“I don’t know, I don’t see the play,” he cracked in English before turning serious.

“It was penalty?” he asked, shrugging.

Capitals left wing Jason Chimera celebrates his second-period goal. (Toni L. Sandys - WASHINGTON POST) Mike “Game Over” Green scored a power-play goal 2 minutes 24 seconds into overtime to give the Capitals a 4-3, season-opening victory over division rival Carolina.

Alexander Semin, Jason Chimera and Brooks Laich also scored for Washington, and goalie Michal Neuvirth had 28 stops.

We’ll have much more to come, so stay tuned.

Michal Neuvirth will be between the pipes tonight as Washington opens up its season at Verizon Center against the division rival Carolina Hurricanes. It’s the first time the Capitals have opened at home since 2005-06.

Here’s what tonight’s lineup should look like, based on warmup:

Forwards
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Knuble
Brouwer-Perreault-Semin
Chimera-Laich-Ward
Hendricks-Halpern-Beagle

Defense
Alzner-Carlson
Hamrlik-Green
Schultz-Wideman

Goalies
Neuvirth
Vokoun

You can chat about the game in the comments below, and The Post’s Tarik El-Bashir will join in occasionally with some observations from the press box.

Faceoff: 7 p.m. | TV: CSN | Radio: 1500 AM

Coach Bruce Boudreau hasn’t shared much about the decision to go with Michal Neuvirth Saturday night against the Carolina Hurricanes and have Tomas Vokoun set to start on Monday against Tampa Bay.

But in an interview Saturday afternoon with John Walton, the team’s radio play-by-play man, Boudreau offered a little more insight into the decision.

“He’s earned it. He’s played great,” Boudreau said of Neuvirth. “Tomas will play Monday. It’s two games, we had to play one of them each game or that was the call. Michal’s playing tonight and we know he’s going to play great and we know Tomas is going to play great on Monday.”

Asked about the goaltenders during his 5 p.m. conversation with reporters, Boudreau didn’t elaborate when asked to comment.

“Michal’s starting tonight, Tomas is starting Monday,” Boudreau said. “I can’t get any plainer than that.”