BSJ Game Report: Bruins 6, Capitals 3 - Veterans lead way as B's win 4th straight

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 6-3 win over the Capitals  in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

Key cogs lift B's to fourth straight win

A lot has been said over the last week about the contributions of Boston's trade-deadline pickups of Taylor Hall, Mike Reilly and Curtis Lazar and how their additions have (justifiably) lifted the Bruins during this recent resurgence.

But let's not forget — this veteran core is still pretty damn good too.

Boston's key cogs once again did most of the heavy lifting on Sunday afternoon — with Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Brad Marchand each scoring two goals apiece en route to a 6-3 win over the Capitals. With the win, Boston has now won four straight games since the deadline — and now sit just six points behind Washington for first place in the East Division with three games in hand.

Tuukka Rask earned his second straight win since returning from injury — stopping 30 of the 33 shots that came his way in the win — while Craig Smith also recorded a multi-point afternoon with a pair of helpers.

Boston appeared to be in control through most of the first period, with Bergeron beating Vitek Vanecek with a crafty backhand shot for a shorthanded strike just 12:02 into the contest — with Krejci doubling Boston's lead less than two minutes later. But a defensive breakdown from Mike Reilly and Charlie McAvoy gave the Caps new life, with T.J. Oshie beating Rask with just 9.9 seconds left in the period to make it a 2-1 game.

A costly double-minor assessed to Connor Clifton in the second period further fueled Washington's rally — with the Caps lighting the lamp twice on the four-minute man advantage to take a 3-2 lead. But Boston countered with four straight goals to close things out, with Krejci's second goal of the day at 16:02 in the second giving the B's the lead for god.

And of course, it wouldn't be a Bruins/Caps game without some seriously questionable hits. While Bruce Cassidy noted postgame that the play in which Tom Wilson sent Sean Kuraly briefly to the room with a hit was "incidental" (granted, I think you'd be justified in not giving a guy with Wilson's rap sheet the benefit of the doubt), the Caps still managed to inflict some heavy damage on Boston — with Jarred Tinordi knocked headfirst into the boards by Garnet Hathaway and Alex Ovechkin not whistled for what looked to be a high hit on Charlie McAvoy. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1383852911600435206

It's going to be a very, very ... eventful series if these two teams meet in the postseason.

FOUR UP

Patrice Bergeron: Boston's captain flipped the momentum in a hurry in this one — turning a four-minute Caps power play in the first into a Bruins lead with his 21st career shorthanded goal. That tally tied Jerry Topazzini and Phil Esposito for the fifth most career shorthanded goals in franchise history — while also passing Don Marcotte and Ray Bourque & tying Derek Sanderson and Rick Middleton for the fourth-most shorthanded points (43) in Bruins franchise history. For good measure, Bergeron's second goal of the evening stood as Boston's 21,000th goal in the Original Six franchise's history.

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1383847097326211079

David Krejci: Since the trade deadline, Krejci has racked up five points and is in the midst of a four-game point streak. Can you think of any correlation? Simply put, the B's second-line center looks completely reenergized since Hall's arrival last weekend, burying a pair of goals against the Caps in this one. While the play of Hall has certainly helped elevate that line, don't overlook the contributions of Craig Smith — who has now posted 18 points over his last 16 games.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1383826751168552962

Tuukka Rask: Much like Jeremy Swayman on Friday, Rask excelled when it came to turning down the multiple quality chances that the Caps generated against him — including a couple of breakaways and odd-man rushes. In total, Rask stopped nine of the 10 high-danger shots that came his way on Sunday en route to a 30-save victory.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1383849310245113860

Brad Marchand: Ho hum, another four-point game for Marchand, who became just the ninth player to record 700 points in a Bruins sweater, and the fifth-fastest to reach that scoring mark. Marchand is now up to 54 points in 41 games — ranking fourth in the NHL in scoring. Again, he won't win it. But Marchand deserves Hart Trophy recognition.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1383836741644165126

TWO DOWN

Connor Clifton: Much like Kuraly on Friday against the Islanders, you simply can't keep giving teams extended looks on the power play like this — especially a team as lethal on the man advantage as the Caps. While Clifton's first double-minor for a high stick was negated by Bergeron's shorthanded goal in the first period, his second high-stick call gave the Caps another opportunity to cash in — with Washington lighting the lamp twice to take a 3-2 lead at the time.

Power play: Boston might be rolling over the past week, but a couple of these blowouts and beatdowns could have been even more lopsided if the B's managed to bury a lot more chances on the power play. The Bruins couldn't convert on their three chances on the power play — including a five-minute sequence after Hathaway's hit on Tinordi.

PLAY OF THE GAME

You could do your taxes by the time Krejci finally rifled home this puck here.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1383841948323123205

PARTING THOUGHTS

Props to Marchand for trying to find his captain and linemate to complete the hat trick.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1383857401955176463

QUOTE OF THE DAY

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1383864204549967874

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will now head out on the road for five games — starting off with three games in a row against the Sabres. Boston will begin their battle with the East Division cellar dwellers on Tuesday night — with puck drop set for 6:30 p.m.