BSJ Game Report: Capitals 3, Bruins 2 (SO) - Halak shines, but shorthanded B’s can’t hold on

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

TOP TAKEAWAYS

A shorthanded B’s roster is bailed out in net … for a time: The Bruins already had a tall task in front of them on Saturday night — facing off against a Capitals team sitting atop the Eastern Conference and coming off of a 13-game point streak. 

To make matters worse, an already decimated B’s roster skating without the likes of Torey Krug, Jake DeBrusk and others was dealt another blow ahead of puck drop — as Patrice Bergeron was held out as a precaution due to a nagging lower-body injury. With Boston’s forward corps tossed in a blender and its power play without its top conductor on the blue line, Saturday’s bout against Washington more or less went as expected, with the Caps often hemming Boston in its own zone for most of the night. 

Tallies from Charlie Coyle and David Pastrnak might have given the B’s the lead at 3:30 in the second period, but Boston didn’t have much time to reset and generate some breathing room, as the Bruins were under siege from a Caps team that entered Saturday with wins in seven straight meetings at TD Garden. 

But, despite a salvo of shots from the Capitals, Boston was primed to survive and advance with two points in hand all the way to the final minute of regulation — due in large part to the play of Jaroslav Halak in net. 



Boston’s slim 2-1 lead through the 59th minute of play can largely be credited to the B’s backup netminder, who turned aside 42 of the 44 shots that came his way against a Caps club that generated 36 scoring chances on the night. 

Ultimately, Halak’s heroics in net could only go so far,



as the Caps eventually buried the equalizer with 58 seconds left in the third — with a 6v5 strike from T.J. Oshie sending Boston into another overtime period. 

The shootout dooms Boston again: Halak deserved better, but after Oshie forced overtime with his strike, a depleted roster had no shot to punch back against Washington — with both clubs eventually heading to a shootout round. 

And, as has been the case for years now, Boston failed to seal the deal in what lasted five rounds at TD Garden — with Coyle standing as the lone B’s skater to beat Braden Holtby in the extra frame. 

With the Capitals coming away with a 3-2 victory, the Bruins are now just 2-for-16 in the shootout this season, with Coyle standing as the only player to light the lamp for Boston in those sequences. 

Boston might have cobbled up enough on Saturday to at least earn a point against the best team in the East, but considering the B’s were just 58 seconds away from a regulation victory, the locker room had few positives to take away from the final result. 

THREE UP

Jaroslav Halak: Playing in his first game since Nov. 10, Halak almost single-handedly led the Bruins to two points on Saturday, posting 42 saves while stopping nine of the 11 high-danger shots that he faced on the night. 

Charlie McAvoy: McAvoy put together one of his best outings of the season on Saturday, logging 23:23 of ice time while chipping in with two assists. Perhaps the most encouraging result was his play defensively, highlighted by a breakup of an Alexander Ovechkin breakaway in the third period. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1195889260844474368

Krejci Line: While Bergeron was sorely missed on Saturday, Boston’s new-look top line of Krejci, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak didn’t look out of place together on an interim basis — as Pastrnak put Boston ahead in the early minutes of the second period after forcing a turnover in the Caps’ zone. Boston needs No. 37 back as soon as possible, but with Krejci standing as the next man up at 1C, the Bruins do at least have some insurance. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1195872670803546112

THREE DOWN

Power play: Not much of a surprise, but Boston’s man advantage has taken a step back without Krug, with the B’s power play closing out Saturday’s game with just two shots on goal and one scoring chance generated in six minutes of 5v4 action. 

Shootout performance: Coyle might have kicked things off with a nifty goal past Holtby, but the following Bruins skaters left a lot to be desired. Pastrnak in Round 3 failed to even get a shot off during a dangle, while Krejci had Holtby beat in Round 4, but didn’t elevate in what would have been the game-winner. 

Kuraly Line: Boston’s fourth line had its work cut out for it on Saturday with a primary matchup penciled in against the Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson line, but the trio did little to slow down the Caps’ top trio — with Washington holding a 9-1 edge in shot attempts during the 10:13 of 5v5 ice time in which Kuraly and Co. was utilized.

PLAY OF THE GAME

A great play by McAvoy here to stop Ovechkin on the breakaway:

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1195889260844474368

PARTING THOUGHTS

Don’t really know what Zdeno Chara did here to warrant a roughing penalty: 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1195890913156964353

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will now head back out on the road, with the B’s set to take on the New Jersey Devils down in Newark on Tuesday night. The Devils are still wallowing down at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with just 18 points through 19 games, but Boston is still expected to be shorthanded, with the most likely returnees being Bergeron and Brett Ritchie.