NHL Notebook: Should the Bruins want the Capitals over Penguins in first round of playoffs?

Let's be clear here - there is going to be no easy path out of the East Division during these Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Boston's road moving forward is still not set in stone quite yet, but whether it's the Capitals or Penguins, Bruce Cassidy's club will have its hands full.

In one corner — you've got the Pittsburgh Penguins. A veteran-heavy club with multiple Cup titles on their resume, an imposing home record (22-4-2), a frustrating trap system and game-changing skill littered throughout its top-six group.

In the other corner — you have the Washington Capitals: Another veteran-heavy club with a Cup-winning pedigree that can light the lamp with ease and leave you bruised and battered over the course of a seven-game series.

Oh, and they've got Zdeno Chara, too.

So sure, the Bruins have largely been on a roll since the trade deadline (11-3-1 since April 11), but you'd be hard-pressed to find any pundit, writer or hell, even a pragmatic fan, that'd be willing to wager that Boston is simply going to steamroll whatever first-round foe awaits them.

As of Saturday night, a playoff bout between the Bruins and Capitals seems like the most likely outcome — with Pittsburgh and Washington officially locked in as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the East Division, respectively.



If Boston defeats the Islanders on Monday at TD Garden — or even takes them to overtime — it will eliminate any potential drama/stakes that would come with a regular-season finale against Washington on Tuesday, as one more point against New York will lock up the B's as the No. 3 seed and set them on a collision course with the Caps.

The only way in which Boston would fall to the No. 4 seed is if the Bruins lose to the Isles in regulation on Monday and don't collect any points against Washington on Tuesday (in that scenario, New York closes out its season with 72 points - and Boston is stuck at 71).

Of course, nothing is set in stone (it is hockey, after all). But barring a complete no-show effort over these final two games, it sure seems like Boston/Washington will be the move.

And that'll likely terrify a large contingent of Bruins fans.

Granted, a lot of those fears are pretty valid.

Beyond just the optics of Chara kicking his old team to the curb and denying the likes of Bergeron/Krejci/Rask/Marchand another valuable kick at the can, the Capitals have regularly taken up plenty of space in Bruins fans' collective subconscious for years now — serving as the imposing big bully to a B's team that is usually the one doling out welts, rather than receiving them.

And while a good portion of Washington's sustained dominance against Boston over the years has been a byproduct of one guy in net (Braden Holtby posted an absurd .939 save percentage against Boston in 22 games), that bully moniker still holds true. Be it Tom Wilson (ever heard of him), Alex Ovechkin (far from a scrapper, but dude can still land some heavy checks), Chara, Brenden Dillon, Garnet Hathaway and others — Washington has a biiiiiiiig lineup built for playoff hockey that can wear you down over the course of a seven-game series (and that might be the best-case scenario).

And yet ... am I crazy for thinking that, when it comes to choosing the lesser of two evils — the Bruins should want to play the Caps in this first-round, right?

And no, this isn't because of the **narratives** of Chara vs. his old team / Wilson vs. ... well, everyone / and all of the star power present on both rosters.

The Bruins should want the Caps because, well — they likely stand a much better chance of beating them, even if they advance to the next round with some bumps and bruises.



Ultimately, when it comes to preferring the Caps over the Penguins — my focus comes down to simple matchups and injuries. And when you weigh Pittsburgh against Washington, the Caps sure seem like an easier opponent to land punches against in a seven-game series (no, not literal punches, Tom.)

The old adage says that defense wins championships — and the Caps .... don't really have that.

Yes, they can score goals in bunches (3.38 goals per game - 4th in NHL), especially on a third-ranked power play, but that Washington defense is certainly mortal — especially if matched up against a Bruins team that has outscored opponents, 42-20, during 5v5 action since the deadline. (The Caps have a -2 goal differential at 5v5 play during that same stretch).

While both Pittsburgh and Washington are similar in that their goalies are nothing to write home about (Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov have save percentages of .907 and .902, respectively), the Penguins with Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith usually fare much better in terms of keeping pucks out of their net thanks to Pittsburgh's pesky neutral-zone trap system which routinely stymies teams and can grind even the most explosive offenses down to a halt.

Yes, Washington has some big boys on their blue line, but packing things in around one's net is generally only effective when you've got a quality goalie serving as that last line of defense — of which Vaneck/Samsonov, to this point, are not.

Look no further than Boston's record against both Pittsburgh and Washington this season.

Vs. Pittsburgh: Boston led season series, 5-3-0. Scored 2.63 goals per game. Allowed 2.38 goals per game.
Vs. Washington: Boston leads season series, 4-1-2. Scored 3.57 goals per game. Allowed 3.14 goals per game.

The only team Boston managed to average more goals against during the 2021 season than the Capitals were the lowly Sabres (4.00 goals scored per game), and while the Caps also did score an average of 3.14 goals against a defense-first team like Boston during that same stretch — some of that was diluted by that 8-1 trouncing that the Caps delivered the night before Boston traded for Taylor Hall, Mike Reilly and Curtis Lazar.

You remember it, the game where the Bruins played without ... Charlie McAvoy, Tuukka Rask, Jaroslav Halak, Matt Grzelcyk, Brandon Carlo and Kevan Miller.

Speaking of injuries, another thing to keep note of is that as Boston seems to be getting closer to a full complement of players back in the fold with Charlie Coyle and Ondrej Kase potentially in line to play this week — the Caps sure seem to be trending in the opposite direction.

While Wilson eventually returned to Saturday's game against the Flyers after banging knees with Nicolas Aube-Kubel, it's certainly not going to feel all that great Sunday morning. T.J. Oshie didn't make it through the same game, going down with what looked like a painful ankle injury and leaving the contest.

And it gets worse. While there stands a likely chance that most if not all of these players listed below could be back by the time the playoffs start (presumably next weekend), Washington is taking quite the beating at exactly the wrong time.

https://twitter.com/russianmachine/status/1391197620564111363

It's the opposite of what's going on with the Pens, who are a bit similar to Boston in that guys like Evgeni Malkin seem to be ready to return — giving Pittsburgh the freedom to slot Jeff Carter (now up to 9 goals through 14 games in Pittsburgh) down to the third line. Sheesh.

Now, yes, there are other matchups that could have the Caps licking their chops in a potential seven-game series — especially when it comes to their lethal power play getting multiple chances against a Bruins team that ranks fourth in the NHL in total penalties this year. However, Boston's penalty kill (ranked second in the NHL) at least gives Boston a shot to tread water in that area of special teams, although fewer trips to the sin bin has to be prescribed.

And, of course, there comes the fear of Washington simply knocking the Bruins around in a series. As I said before — it's valid. But barring a cheap shot from Wilson (which, unfortunately, can't be overlooked these days), Boston should be better equipped than most rosters when it comes to, at the very least, matching Washington when things get rough.

Sure, Boston has some small bodies on its blue line and plenty of skill sprinkled throughout the lineup, but guys like Kevan Miller, Nick Ritchie, Jeremy Lauzon, Trent Frederic, Jarred Tinordi, Chris Wagner are more are all capable of delivering heavy checks of their own — and dropping the gloves if necessary. Granted, Bruce Cassidy might need to tinker with his lineup in order to inject more of these heavier skaters into the mix, but fans shouldn't go into this series thinking that the Bruins are about to get bulldozed by the Caps. Unlike the poor Rangers, Boston has the personnel on hand to punch back.

As I said earlier, there is no easy matchup when it comes to choosing between the Capitals and Penguins. But you know what else? If the Bruins keep playing like they've been doing for most of the last month, they should beat any other top dog in the East.

Because at their best, the Bruins now have the even-strength scoring, the special-teams proficiency (remarkably, the Bruins actually have cashed in on a third of their power plays since April 27), the defensive structure and goaltending to stay afloat in the seven-game series without getting downed by a fatal flaw. Such isn't the case for the Caps and their leaky situation in net.

Feel free to disagree with me. And when Chara and Wilson send the B's packing, feel free to rub it in my face. I also had the B's beating the Blues in six, for those who remember.

But the stars certainly seem aligned for the Bruins to finally punch back against a team that's had Boston's number for far too long.

NHL easing COVID restrictions

With more and more NHL teams getting vaccinated across North America, the NHL is set to join the growing number of sports leagues that are going to ease back on certain restrictions and safety protocols for clubs that are getting inoculated.

Per a memo released by the NHL, once 85% of a team's traveling party is fully vaccinated, there will be many more options available to players, especially on the road. This includes social gatherings of up to eight individuals at a time either indoors or outdoors, players being allowed to gather in each other's hotel rooms and food allowed on both planes and buses once more. Players will also now be able to eat outdoors at restaurants.

At both team's practice facilities and team-only areas of arenas, members of the traveling party will not need to wear masks — while fully vaccinated players and coaches will also not need to take part in PCR testing during their off-days. Other perks include the removal of time restrictions before players can arrive at arenas for games, saunas and steam rooms can be used at team facilities once more and players can play golf as a group.

As of right now, these changes will only affect teams based in the U.S. — given that vaccine rollouts have been considerably slower up in Canada.

While Bruce Cassidy noted on Saturday that a few Bruins are still awaiting their second shots, the fact that more freedom away from the rink rests on the horizon is a welcome development — especially given how isolating this season has been for many players. 

"Yeah, I got to look through it," Cassidy said of the memo, adding: "There was a number of us, specifically, the older guys — the coaching staff that are predominantly fully vaccinated now or in the next couple days. ... How does that affect the group dynamics? ... I know there's guys awaiting their second shot. But however it shakes out, it's just nice to relax a little bit.

"Obviously, we've learned to live with whatever protocols are in place. And I think we've done a good job. We've obviously had a couple of hiccups along the way, but for the most part adhere  ... to the mandates and what they requested. And I think for everybody's sake, you know, not just in hockey, outside of hockey — everywhere. If things are getting safer, then you'd like to loosen up a little bit within reason, and we're no different. So looking forward to it."

Fitting swan song for Backes

Good to see David Backes, in what could be the final season of his 15-year NHL career, get a proper tribute in St. Louis — the city where he thrived for 10 seasons, including five as captain of the Blues.

While Backes has only hinted at potential hanging up his skates once the 2021 season concludes, it sure seemed like this is going to be the last hurrah based on how Wednesday's game between the Blues and Ducks played out — with the 37-year-old vet saluting the crowd at the Enterprise Center before getting another standing ovation as he went through a handshake line with the Blues, including former B's teammate Torey Krug.

https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1390160151840100354

Yes, while Backes' tenure in Boston never quite panned out — especially given the money and term that the B's doled out for the forward — the veteran was regularly lauded over the years by his teammates for his vocal presence in the dressing room, serving as another key authority alongside the usual suspects like Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara. That influence came at a welcome time for the Original Six franchise, given the number of rookies and other young talent that arrived in Boston during Backes' time with Boston from 2016-20.

“When I first came in, he was one of the leaders on this team," Jake DeBrusk said on Thursday about Backes. “They gave him a good tribute there in St. Louis, it’s emotional. It’s emotional to see from just a friends standpoint the things that he had to do, especially around this time when he was here with us, had to deal with certain aspects of where he was playing in the lineup and expectations. I think that he handled it really well, just an ultimate professional and, like I said, a really good friend of mine.

“I haven’t talked to him in a little bit, but obviously last night with that video tribute, you could just see the type of emotion, he wore it on his sleeve. That’s one thing I know can never be taken away from him, what he’s done in his career."

Providence Bruins close out COVID-impacted AHL campaign with another division title 

A shortened, isolated AHL campaign featuring no Calder Cup Playoffs, games at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough and a slate of games featuring just three total opponents (Bridgeport, Hartford and Utica) might not be the most ideal situation, to say the least. But the Providence Bruins made the most of their opportunity in 2021 — capturing their second-straight Atlantic Division title after a 6-3 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack on Thursday afternoon.

The P-Bruins — who boasted the top record in the Eastern Conference (38-18-6) last season before COVID halted the 2019-20 campaign —  close out this year with a record of 15-6-2. This marks the first time in P-Bruins franchise history that the team has won their division in two consecutive seasons.

Trailing 2-0 to Hartford during the second period, Providence reeled off six consecutive goals to secure the win — with Ian McKinnon and Curtis Hall both scoring their first career AHL goals in the victory.

"I think in a year that we're not really sure which way is up — the one thing that we did know was today, at one o'clock, we had an opportunity to either win or lose a division title," Providence head coach Jay Leach said. "And those opportunities don't come around too often. And I think our guys certainly took full advantage of it.  I think they actually might have been a little bit nervous to start, which was a new thing for our guys, a young group back there, especially the back end. So it was a good experience for them and Hartford gave us everything they had — they came at us full bore, and we were able to sustain some hits. And then obviously, we got on the board and got gone. So it was good. But it was it's a nice way to end the season. That's for sure."

Cameron Hughes closed out the season as Providence's leading scorer with 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) over 25 games, while Jakub Lauko finished second with 19 points in 23 games. Dan Vladar made a team-high 10 starts in net, finishing the year with a .923 save percentage. Jack Ahcan had a strong rookie campaign in the AHL with 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 19 games, while Brady Lyle had a breakthrough year on the blue line — chipping in with 14 points over 25 games. Not too shabby for a free-agent pick-up for Providence back in April. Boston certainly took notice.