BSJ Game Report: Bruins 5, Capitals 1 - B's punch back after Wilson's hit knocks Carlo out of game

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-1 win over the Capitals in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

Wilson's hit on Carlo mars B's win: Friday's matchup between the Bruins and Capitals devolved into an ugly, unfortunate mess — and the NHL has no one but themselves to blame.

Even though the Bruins handily bested the Capitals, 5-1, the encouraging results were marred by what transpired in the final minute of the opening period — in which repeat offender and noted cheap-shot artist Tom Wilson caught 6-foot-5 Brandon Carlo in the head while checking him into the end boards. Carlo immediately crumpled to the ice, with Caps forward Jakub Vrana adding a cross-check for good measure as the B's defenseman hit the deck.

Despite the optics of Carlo needing assistance getting off the ice, no penalty was inexplicably called on the play — drawing the ire of all on the B's bench.

Postgame, Bruce Cassidy acknowledged that Carlo was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, with no further updates available.

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Boston responded in the following frame with their play on the ice — making a one-goal lead into a 4-0 cushion off of a punishing assault down Washington's end of the ice, with Trent Frederic, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand (his second of the evening) all lighting the lamp in the frame. In terms of answering for Wilson's transgressions, the new guy on the B's blue line stepped up, with Jarred Tinordi dropping the gloves with Wilson and trading a couple of heavy hooks.

Both parties weren't finished, as Wilson and Frederic dropped the gloves again in the third period (their second scrap of the season), but that was it as far as major brouhahas went for the remainder of the contest. All things considered, the NHL has to be lucky that things didn't get out of hand and another player was seriously injured — because when you let a hit like that go uncalled, you put it in the hands of the players to police what happens on the ice, and  things can get very dangerous.

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Still, even though other major injuries were avoided — and Wilson will likely have another meeting with the NHL Department of Player Safety — this still stands as a Pyrrhic victory for the Bruins, as Carlo is likely going to be on the shelf for a bit.

Bruins take care of business: Wilson's cheap shot and the Bruins' physical response in the second and third periods will certainly draw most of the headlines, but Friday's win also stood as a massive step in the right direction for a Bruins team that's been stuck in a rut for the last few weeks. While the Bergeron line led the way for the Bruins (three goals, six total points), just about everyone contributed in a positive way for Boston on a night in which they needed to answer the bell.

Frederic's second-period tally stood as his third in his last six games, while David Krejci's line broke through — with Nick Ritchie capping the scoring for Boston in the third period of play. Even a revamped fourth line with Jack Studnicka down the middle strung together some promising O-zone shifts, while Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk led the way for a shorthanded D corps that has already soldiered on without guys like Jeremy Lauzon and Kevan Miller in the lineup.

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Losing Carlo stands as a black eye on the game, no doubt, but Boston responded in a major way to make the Caps pay in this one.

Coyle returns from COVID Protocol List: The Bruins at least managed to get some good news ahead of puck drop, as Charlie Coyle was activated from the COVID-19 Protocol list after missing Wednesday's game against Washington. As we noted back when the news hit that Coyle was scratched, being placed on the COVID-19 Protocol doesn't mean that said individual HAS tested positive for COVID-19. Other reasons can include possible symptoms, a false positive test, quarantine due to contact tracing, inconclusive results and more. Something of the latter was clearly the case, as Coyle ended up only missing one game.

FIVE UP: 

Patrice Bergeron: That entire top line was dominant in this one, but Bergeron turned in a classic performance in one of his first major tests as captain — leading the way on the scoresheet (one goal, one assists) while also spearheading the B's response following Carlo's injury. Whether it be speaking to Wilson at the start of the second period, saluting Tinordi in the sin bin after his scrap with the Capitals winger or getting involved in multiple post-whistle scraps, Bergeron set plenty of examples for his teammates out on the ice on Friday.

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Grzelcyk-McAvoy pairing: After a Grzelcyk-Carlo pairing dominated on Wednesday, Grzelcyk was shifted up to an all-BU top pairing on Friday ... and promptly dominated again. In the 10:49 of 5v5 ice time in which Grzelcyk and McAvoy were on the ice together, the Bruins outscored the Caps, 3-0, and held a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal.

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Jarred Tinordi: After the NHL opted to let Wilson off the hook for that dangerous hit on Carlo, good on Tinordi for stepping up and answering the bell against Wilson in this heavyweight bout.

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Trent Frederic: After getting under the skin of multiple Caps skaters on Wednesday night, Frederic made Washington pay in the offensive zone on Friday, with the young forward tipping a McAvoy feed past Vitek Vanecek for his third goal in six games. Frederic is developing into far more than just a scrapper out there, but it wouldn't be a trademark game for the young winger if he didn't mix it up as well — with Frederic battling with Wilson later in the third period. Kid's fearless.

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Jaroslav Halak: Halak gets lost in the shuffle a bit here, but the B's backup netminder turned in a very strong performance, stopping 31 of the 32 shots that came his way in the victory, including 12 saves in what was a very competitive opening period of play.

ONE DOWN

Power Play: While multiple Bruins lines broke through during even-strength action on Friday night, the B's power play continues to be stuck in a rut, going 0-for-2 on the night. Over their last 11 games, the Bruins have only buried three power-play tallies on 26 total bids.

PLAY OF THE GAME

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PARTING THOUGHTS: Fair to say, Bergeron had a bone to pick with Wilson and the Caps for most of Friday's game.

https://twitter.com/bruins_stats/status/1368011431787065345

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: Marchand didn't mince words when talking about Wilson's hit on Carlo.

https://twitter.com/bruins_stats/status/1368008575050784771

LOOKING AHEAD: The Bruins will close out their homestand on Sunday evening with a matchup against the Devils. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m.