» Chris Bourque was a question mark after a mild concussion last week and missing two preseason games. Instead, he returned to the lineup, scored a goal Sunday and made the cut. Will be an energy player on third or fourth line. But he must produce with Eric Fehr (shoulder) just a few weeks away.

» Caps coach Bruce Boudreau called Tyler Sloan the team’s best defenseman in camp. His salary-cap friendly contract also helped as did the need to get prized prospect Karl Alzner playing time at AHL Hershey.

» Quintin Laing has never met a puck he didn’t want to stop with his face. That skill pretty much fits a fourth-line left wing. He has his limitations, but Boudreau loves him and every NHL team can use a player like that.

Out …

» Pretty simple why forward Alexandre Giroux — who scored 60 AHL goals last year — didn’t make it. Bourque was better in camp and Giroux didn’t finish his chances. Now on waivers.

» Another player who has hit a brick wall in Washington is center Keith Aucoin. May have a better shot at clearing waivers than Giroux and returning to Hershey.

» Caps defenseman Karl Alzner can play in the NHL. But he’s easier to send down than Sloan thanks to a larger salary and because he doesn’t have to clear waivers. In a perfect world that wouldn’t matter. In the modern-day NHL it does.