Washington Capitals: Perreault and Other Hopefuls Lead the Way Past Jackets

The Washington Capitals training camp and preseason exhibition just got a little more interesting after Monday's 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

With much of the Caps opening season roster already settled, the challenge for Bruce Boudreau and company is deciding which of three promising young players gets a spot on the roster for the 2011-12 season.

Cody Eakin, Mathieu Perreault and Chris Bourque combined for six points, including two goals against an overmatched Columbus squad. 

Chris Bourque, who has played a total of 13 NHL games for the Capitals since 2007-08, netted three assists and earned the second star of the night behind Perreault. 

Cody Eakin, who grabbed the third star, hasn't played a regular season game in his career but is looking ever closer to playing in a couple this season after a 44-point, 26-game performance for the Kootenay Ice of the WHL. Eakin registered the eventual game winning goal off a beautiful behind the net play from Chris Bourque. 

The first star of the night belonged to Mathieu Perreault who dominated the game, winding up with a goal and an assist on the night. Out of the three youngsters, Perreault has the most NHL experience and was actually on a very impressive run for his NHL call-up last season, registering 14 points in 35 games for the Capitals in 2010-11. 

Although the Capitals have a very impressive group of rookies in their farm system, most of them will have to wait at least another year before they get any real playing time in the big leagues. Out of these three promising young athletes, my money is on Perreault to make the squad outright, juggling between the third and fourth lines.

However, there is still a lot more training camp to come for the Capitals so only time will tell who gets a roster spot and who is stuck waiting for a call-up.