Ryan: How a shorthanded Bruins squad gutted out 2 points against the Caps

At the end of the day, it will likely be the usual suspects that will make the highlight reels following Boston's 4-2 victory over the Capitals on Thursday — with Brad Marchand featured at the forefront after pantsing Alex Ovechkin, Justin Schultz and Ilya Samsonov off of a potpourri of ankle-breaking toe drags, filthy dangles and nifty backhanders on the eventual game-winning, shorthanded tally.

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And, of course, Jeremy Swayman will deservedly earn his time in the spotlight, with the B's rookie goaltender (with all of nine games of AHL experience on his resume before getting pressed into service by Boston) now flashing a save percentage of .947 (71 saves on 75 shots) through two games.

But on a night in which the Bruins managed to string together arguably their most complete game in months, there was a lot more praise to go around beyond just the play of Boston's star winger and upstart rookie goalie — especially given the fact that the B's were once again without two of their top defensemen once again in Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo against a high-powered Caps offense.

"I think our guys were committed to playing the right way all night. ... Every player that went over the boards in the third had the same common goal and that was, 'We're going to play together, we're going to manage pucks, we're gonna take advantage if there's a situation,'" Bruce Cassidy said. "We had ourselves a couple of odd-man rushes, chances to extend the lead. We didn't give up much at our end. So that's winning hockey."

A return to form for Kuraly-Wagner

The lone goal generated by the B's fourth line of Anton Blidh, Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner might have been generated off some much-needed puck luck, but even without Blidh's tally, Boston's fourth line turned back the clock and put together a vintage performance down in D.C. — showcasing just how effective the club's bottom-six can be when stalwarts like Kuraly and Wagner can string together effective, hard-nosed shifts.

Despite having just 12.5% of their faceoffs set in the offensive zone, the Blidh-Kuraly-Wagner line fully tilted the ice back in the B's favor when they were out on a shift, with Boston still holding an edge in shot attempts (11-8) and shots on goal (7-3) despite spending so many reps outside of favorable areas of the ice.

A lot of that was the byproduct of simple, heavy forechecking shifts from the likes of Wagner and Kuraly — who both led the Bruins in high-danger scoring chances at 5v5 play with two apiece. With the B's fourth line spending so much of their shifts recovering pucks, throwing their weight around and hovering around Samsonov, it meant less time for their matchups to generate looks down the other end of the ice, with that B's line holding a 4-2 edge in shots on goal and a 1-0 advantage in goals scored when matched up against Ovechkin over 4:46 of 5v5 ice time.



(A very busy day at the office for Chris Wagner.)

Both Kuraly and Wagner didn't re-invent themselves out on the ice Thursday. But effectively executing a simple, straight-line forechecking game created a positive effect that rippled through the rest of Boston's forward lines. Sure, they won't make many highlight reels, but an active checking line can make all the difference against a high-octane opponent — especially come the postseason.

"Most of the guys we use down in the lineup in that role are better players when we have the lead, right? Most fourth liners are, because they're checkers by nature, they're good defenders... Kuraly skated well, attacked the net a couple times shot. Wags probably had more chances tonight than I've seen in a while for him," Cassidy said. "Unfortunately, the puck wasn't cooperating with him. It seemed like it was bouncing at just the wrong time. But I thought they did a really good job — penalty kill we had a slew of them tonight, so they get more involved in the game and probably feel better about themselves there. We didn't chase matchups, so they're out against — if it's Ovechkin those are the matchups they have to sort of grab hold of and take pride in, so I really liked their game."

Depth stands up on defense

As disheartening as the last few weeks have been for Jeremy Lauzon as he looked to shake off the rust following hand surgery, the 23-year-old defenseman has stepped up with both McAvoy and Carlo sidelined — averaging close to 25 minutes of ice time this week while finally get rewarded offensively when his point shot snuck past Samsonov just 33 seconds into Thursday's contest.

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When it comes to stressing good habits to his young D corps, Cassidy has regularly reiterated the need for his blueliners to get more pucks through on shots from the point — urging even stay-at-home skaters like Lauzon to let the biscuit fly when the opportunity presents itself, but to properly read when said shooting lane becomes available. Lauzon's progression in that area was rewarded with a tally that created some breathing room for Swayman and a shorthanded B's roster right out of the gate.

"Well, that's what we talked about the other night. The guys that don't have as much NHL experience on our roster — like the Lauzons, the Zborils, those guys that are still learning the game. ... They have to be able to make a certain amount of plays," Cassidy said. "They're gonna make some wrong reads at times and we go through that with them. And that's just part of the learning curve. But it's good for him to get rewarded for that, because he's had a few blocked. ...  . The cleaner they can become as we go along here, I think the better it'll be for them mentally, not only for us on the ice, but for their own game. That's where the young guys progress in this league."

And while Lauzon has managed to string together some strong periods of hockey, perhaps the top equalizer over these two games has been the return of Kevan Miller, whose presence has been sorely missed after close to a six-week layoff due to a flareup with his surgically repaired knee. While the veteran's voice both in the locker room and on the ice holds significant sway over youngsters like Lauzon and Zboril, Miller has proven to still be highly effective when given the green light to play.

Going from more than a month on the shelf to suddenly a top-pairing role on Thursday might have been a big ask, but Miller was nothing short of spectacular against the Caps — leading the B's in ice time (25:18), landing five hits, blocking five shots and getting the call from Cassidy to help snuff out any potential Caps rally in the closing minutes of play. Injury concerns will unfortunately always factor into the conversation with Miller, but when he's able to suit up for this club, his impact on this defense is awfully evident.

The kid in net keeps delivering

Swayman's impressive run to open his NHL career will only continue to gain momentum (and I'm sure lead to some colorful conversations about the B's future in net), in the context of just one game, the 22-year-old goalie gave the Bruins everything they needed in net — keeping Washington off the board in the first 30 minutes of play as Boston built a 3-0 lead.

And even though Washington ultimately reeled off a pair of goals in 19 seconds during the middle frame, you'd be hard-pressed to find any detractor for a goalie that was forced to endure a two-minute stretch of 5-on-3 hockey against the likes of Ovechkin and Caps.

"Looks that way in the net, acts that way between periods," Cassidy said of Swayman's composure. "Acts that way before games — listen you don't want to jump to anything. It's two good hockey games, on the road. No bad goals yet. All good shots that have beaten him. Made real high-end saves. Tracking pucks I think has been excellent so far. Washington's got some big bodies and we got guys crowded around the front of the net and he seems to be able to find those loose pucks and get himself reset and in position. Like what we've seen so far.

"Puck play, I think has been good. Tonight, I think there's a couple of times our D could have talked to him better. But so far, so good. Both young goaltenders getting a look this year, you never know what you have — but they've done a real good job for us with us missing Tuukka and Jaro, who've done a great job for us over the years. For a coach, you feel very grateful that no matter who you put in there, you got a chance to wi."

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It remains to be seen how much momentum guys like Wagner/Kuraly can carry over from this game, how much Miller's knee can hold up in the weeks ahead and just where a guy like Swayman is when Boston (hopefully) begins playoff hockey next month. But on a night in which a shorthanded roster seemed primed for a sobering reality check against one of the top teams in the East, it was a refreshing change of pace to see not the same ol' crew lead the way in a statement win down in D.C.