If playoff rematch is in cards, Bruins must brace themselves for a slugfest against Capitals

The next time the Bruins and Capitals face off against one another, it may not come until the 2020-21 campaign. 

If certain chips fall into place, it may be sooner than that — with the top-two teams in the NHL (points-wise) potentially putting themselves on a collision course a few months down the road in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"Collision course" is an apt phrase to toss around when it comes to these two heavyweights, considering that’s what one should expect to regularly witness out on the sheet over a potential seven-game slugfest.

Boston might have emerged victorious in its final regular-season bout against Washington on Monday night, but the B’s aren’t going to enter the Christmas break without sporting their own fair share of bumps and bruises.

On a night in which the Bruins secured their first home victory over Washington since March 6, 2014, some of the good tidings drawn from the evening were marred by the state of Boston’s roster against a physical Caps crew.



By the time the Bruins skated off the ice with a 7-3 victory secured, two of Boston’s defensemen — Torey Krug and Charlie McAvoy — were already knocked out of the contest. 

Krug was ruled out since the second period after taking a heavy hit from Tom Wilson, with the club tabbing his ailment as an upper-body injury. McAvoy’s injury came in the final minutes of play with Boston already up by three goals — with T.J. Oshie drilling the 22-year-old skater into the boards. 

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They were far from the only ones dinged up in a game that featured 36 total penalty minutes logged — 26 coming from the visitors. Matt Grzelcyk was dropped by a slew foot from Alex Ovechkin, while David Pastrnak kicked off a major kerfuffle after Wilson speared him below the belt in the third period. 

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For as much skill as the Caps possess up and down the roster, they’re also more than happy to throw their weight around and muck things up — especially with the likes of Wilson, Radko Gudas, Garnet Hathaway, Ovechkin, and others all logging regular minutes. 

There wasn’t too much harping on the Caps postgame from Bruce Cassidy and his players, opting to leave some of the questionable plays from Oshie and Wilson up to the league. 

“There was a few incidents tonight, I imagine (NHL Department of) Player Safety might be a little bit busy,” Cassidy said. “I know if it was a guy like a (Brad) Marchand of the world, they’d be getting looked at, so there was a few spears and some of those. I don’t want to say it was clean or dirty because I have not looked at it and imagine it will get looked at. They’ll have to judge that accordingly, right?”

"Yeah, I would (hear from the league),” Marchand added.

Still, unless the NHL is going to pluck guys like Wilson and others from the Caps’ roster for the postseason, Boston should expect even more of a bloodbath if a playoff matchup is indeed in the cards between these two clubs.

As was the case last year when the B’s were socked in the mouth by the St. Louis Blues, waiting for the league to bail you out of a slugfest isn’t going to help you out all that much over the course of a physical, grueling playoff series.

Boston was hampered a bit on Monday when it came to matching the Caps’ physicality —  with Zdeno Chara out due to a jaw procedure, Chris Wagner scratched and Kevan Miller still sidelined due to a pair of major knee injuries. Having at least some of those bodies back come May might help stem the tide of the Caps’ onslaught, but if we hit the postseason and it’s Pastrnak that has to get into scraps with a 6-foot-4 brute like Wilson, then the rest of the B’s personnel has a lot to answer for. 

"It almost felt like playoff hockey,” Pastrnak said. “That's what it takes to beat this team. ... We won't be pushed by anybody. We answer.”

Props to Pastrnak for responding after getting a cup check from Wilson, but if guys like Brett Ritchie aren’t throwing their weight around against Washington’s skill players, the B’s might need to find the bodies that will in order to trade punches with this team — or any other club looking to put Boston on the ropes. 

For Cassidy, the key to beating a team with size, snarl, and skill like the Caps can be hard to discern, given the myriad of ways that Washington can beat you. But given the talent present on Boston’s roster, Cassidy believes his room features the personnel capable of dealing a knockout blow to the bullies down in the District — especially if the hockey gods tabbed both clubs for a rematch this spring. 

“You know, clearly, they’re a physical team, and there’s two different approaches,” Cassidy said. “You can match them hit for hit or you can use your foot speed and smarts and stay out of the box and try to frustrate them. I think what we did early in the first period was probably a smaller lineup for us, so it’s something to think about that way. At the end of the day, you do have to win your puck battles against them, against big men, which is a challenge for any team in this league, that’s why they’re in first place. I think they do it well. And you have to keep their D in check from joining the rush. 

“I thought for the most part, [Dmitry] Orlov, Carlson, we did a good job with them. They got some point shots, but not joining the rush. I don’t know if I’m answering your question, and you know me, I don’t like to answer something that may or may not happen five months from now, but that’s kind of the formula, easier said than done, against Washington, because they win a lot of hockey games, even though coaches all around the league probably have good game plans. They’ve just got good players and they play their system well.”