One choice first learned the position this summer, an experiment as the Washington Capitals tried to fill a void at second-line center. Another option is new to North America, still adjusting to the language, the life and the game. The third has four NHL seasons under his belt, and the higher expectations that come with experience, but he too hasn’t skated in the middle “for almost three years.”

Three games into his first preseason leading the Capitals, deciding the most important position battle will become a matter of preference for Coach Barry Trotz. As Andre Burakovsky, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Marcus Johansson jockey for the vacant second-line center spot, Trotz has accepted their varying learning curves. All three, he said, offer different skills. After a 2-0 loss Wednesday to the Boston Bruins, none has pulled ahead.

“You look at Marcus hasn’t played center for quite a while,” Trotz said. “He’s just re-engaging to that position. Burakovsky is a total new position for him and a young guy. And Kuzy is back at center but playing over in North America in that position is a lot different. They’re all going through their own little issues, but they’re all pretty talented.”

On July 1, the first day of free agency, General Manager Brian MacLellan prioritized signing defensemen Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik, deals which brought the Capitals within $1.1 million of the salary ceiling. It answered a serious depth issue on the blue line, but not enough room remained to address the second-line center issue through free agency.

So they looked inward. They envisioned Kuznetsov, the Russian rookie, as one possible answer, having seen enough in 17 games last season to justify the confidence. They hoped Johansson, 23 with four NHL seasons played, could elevate his game beyond last year’s even-strength goal-scoring struggles.

“The last couple years I haven’t gotten as much out of my game as I usually do, so I think it’s a good thing,” Johnasson said. “Just keep working on it and when you get to that level where you’re not really thinking anymore, and just doing it, that’s when you’re going to see some progress.”

This summer, the Capitals moved Burakovsky to center, an experiment they hoped could be a long-term solution. He began at development camp, first dominating intrasquad scrimmages, then returned to Sweden, where he practiced with a local professional team and asked the coach to work out in the middle. Then the 19-year-old returned stateside, entered training camp, scored the game-winner in Washington’s preseason opener and kept himself firmly in the fray.

“I feel quite comfortable actually,” Burakovsky said. “It’s coming every day. It’s my second game on this level. It’s kind of new.”

With everyone playing in the same game Wednesday, Trotz said, the Capitals could compact the evaluation process in a hostile TD Garden, thunderous even for a preseason game, against a physical opponent. A clear winner — Kuznetsov — emerged in the faceoff category, but Trotz was still unsure if anyone had gained pole position.

“They all had their moments tonight,” Trotz said. “I thought you can take pieces of the game, stretches where they had three or four good shifts and then looked really fine, then have a shift where they struggled a little bit, turnovers and little puck battles that you want them to win. The draws are going to be a concern. We’re going to have to work on that in the short period of time here.”

Earlier this month, MacLellan admitted the NHL’s pantry of available second-line centers remains thin. So tThe Capitals continued to search within, none yet emerging but everyone still hoping.

“All three of them are very skilled, and all three of them have been playing wing lately, so maybe it’s more of a ‘who’s comfortable’ question, to get used to playing center again,” top-line center Nicklas Backstrom said. “But I mean, I think whoever is going to have the best camp is going to play there.”

Chelsea Janes contributed from Washington.