BSJ Game Report: Capitals 3, Bruins 2 - Power-play woes continue as B’s come up short in Washington

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

Box Score

TWO THINGS TO KNOW

Bruins had a good shot at taking control of this game early on: The odds were stacked against the Bruins in this one, considering Boston, already stuck in a three-game losing skid, were facing off against the lone team in the NHL that has accrued more points than them on the year.  Add in the fact that Bruins killer Braden Holtby (17-3-0, .944 save percentage) was between the pipes — and considering Washington’s overall dominance against Boston (winners of 15 of 16 games vs. the B’s) — and Bruce Cassidy’s crew was already on the wrong side of many odds going into Wednesday’s matchup at the Capital One Arena. But, for the first 16 minutes of the contest, the Bruins were well on their way to righting the ship, with David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron beating Holtby to give the B’s a 2-0 cushion. 

Well, the two-goal lead lasted for at least a minute, but after another brutal offside review wiped Bergeron’s goal off the board, things quickly went downhill for Boston. Clinging to a one-goal lead after the first intermission, the Bruins managed to hold an 11-5 edge in 5v5 shots on goal in the second period, but any breathing room was negated in short order thanks to a pair of goals from T.J Oshie just 3:30 apart. 

The first tally that Jaroslav Halak surrendered was a tough hit for the Bruins, as Oshie cashed in on a power-play sequence — handed to Washington after Chris Wagner was whistled for … interference? … on this play. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1204934673325056001

One has to wonder how things could have changed in what was an eventual 3-2 Capitals victory had Bergeron’s goal not been taken off the board. Still, in what stood as Boston’s fourth consecutive loss, there were far more issues than just some more bad luck from the video-review room. 

Power outage on power play continues: Once again, a third-period surge wasn’t able to put Boston over the top, as John Carlson gave the Caps the lead for good at 4:42 in the third period — less than two minutes after Sean Kuraly tied things up with a deflection goal. Boston’s poor coverage on Carlson during the game-winning tally was a brutal look given the recent momentum swing, but if we’re looking at the primary factor in Boston’s woes on Wednesday, we have to once again look at the power play, which is now stuck in a 2-for-25 rut over the last eight games. While a strong showing from Holtby and Ottawa’s Anders Nilsson on Monday might have skewered those numbers a bit, something just isn’t clicking on that PP1 unit, with only one of Boston’s eight 5v4 shots on goal Wednesday leading to a high-danger scoring chance. Might be time to simplify things and pepper the goalie early and often. 

TWO UP

David Pastrnak: He only went four straight games without a goal, but it felt much longer for Pastrnak in this recent scoreless stretch. I guess those are the expectations you have to deal with when you’re already up to 25 goals this season. Well, make it 26 goals now, as the winger got back on the scoresheet after roofing a puck past Holtby in the opening stanza. 

Torey Krug: Krug’s blast was tipped by Kuraly at 2:53 in the third period, but the defenseman hit a pretty impressive milestone with his primary helper. That stood as Krug’s 308th career point as a member of the Bruins, passing Glen Wesley for fifth place in terms of overall scoring for a Bruins defenseman. 

The full list is now:

Bourque - 1,506 points
Orr - 888
Chara - 479
Park - 417
Krug - 308

Not too shabby for an undrafted free agent.

THREE DOWN

Power Play: Yes, the Bruins still managed to land eight shots on goal against Holtby during 9:41 of 5v4 TOI and essentially did score on the Bergeron goal that was overturned on an offside review. But still, it’s hard to ignore the downward trend that Boston’s man-advantage has been stuck in. A 2-for-25 showing is a tough look. 

Connor Clifton: Back in the lineup for the first time since Dec. 3, Clifton had a rough go of it against the Caps, with Oshie dangling past the defenseman en route to his second goal of the evening. In Clifton’s 11:07 of 5v5 TOI, the Bruins were out-attempted, 16-6. 

https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1204935574257197057

Krejci Line: Still seems like the Brett Ritchie experiment isn’t working out too well, as a second line of DeBrusk-Krejci-Ritchie was only able to generate two scoring chances in 7:49 of 5v5 TOI together. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1204930048274452482

PARTING THOUGHT

Goodness — we actually have a Tim Thomas sighting? 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1204917605234020352

Good for Thomas, who was honored on the Capital One Arena ice ahead of puck drop as a member of the USA Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2019. Thomas was joined by Krissy Wendell, Brian Gionta & Neal Henderson for the pregame ceremony. 

Meanwhile, who told Tom Wilson it was a good idea to drop the gloves with Zdeno Chara? 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1204930748328955904

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will continue their four-game road trip by capping off a back-to-back slate Thursday with a matchup against the Lightning. While Tampa Bay has yet to take off this season with a 15-11-3 record, it’d be wise for the B’s to rack up as many points as they can against a club that should be back in the playoff picture in short order.