Live Coverage: Bruins 1, Capitals 1 (3rd)

NOTE: We are not updating Live Coverage tonight as we deal with the new site conversion.

 

The Bruins will close out the 2021 regular season with a matchup against the Capitals on Tuesday evening. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Follow along for updates from Tuesday's game. 

WHO: Bruins (33-15-7) vs. Capitals (35-15-5)

WHEN: 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Capital One Arena

TV: NESN+

RADIO: 98.5-FM The Sports Hub

LIVE BOX SCORE: NHL.com

LINEUPS 

BOSTON

Nick Ritchie -- Curtis Lazar -- Chris Wagner
Jake DeBrusk -- Jack Studnicka -- Karson Kuhlman
Trent Frederic -- Oskar Steen -- Zach Senyshyn
Anton Blidh -- Greg McKegg -- Cameron Hughes

Jarred Tinordi -- Steven Kampfer
Jakub Zboril -- Urho Vaakanainen
Jack Ahcan -- Connor Clifton

Jeremy Swayman
Jaroslav Halak

Scratched: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, Taylor Hall, David Krejci, Craig Smith, Sean Kuraly, Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie McAvoy, Mike Reilly, Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Lauzon, Tuukka Rask, Kevan Miller

Injured: Charlie Coyle (upper body), Ondrej Kase (upper body)

WASHINGTON

Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Anthony Mantha
Conor Sheary -- Lars Eller -- Michael Raffl
Daniel Sprong -- Philippe Maillet -- Tom Wilson
Carl Hagelin -- Nic Dowd -- Garnet Hathaway

Dmitry Orlov -- Justin Schultz
Brenden Dillon -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Nick Jensen -- Zdeno Chara

Vitek Vanecek
Craig Anderson

Injured: T.J. Oshie (lower body), John Carlson (lower body)

COVID-19 protocol: Evgeny Kuznetsov

PREGAME NOTES

As one can tell from reading the lineup chart above — the Bruins are set to rest a majority of their starters for their regular-season finale now that they're locked into the No. 3 seed and set to face the Caps in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Boston will be without Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, Taylor Hall, David Krejci, Craig Smith, Sean Kuraly, Charlie Coyle, Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie McAvoy, Mike Reilly, Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Lauzon, Kevan Miller and Tuukka Rask.

As such, expect plenty of youngsters and depth options in the lineup, according to Bruce Cassidy.

"We are basically a little banged up, so we're going to use that opportunity to give guys maintenance days," Cassidy said. "Other guys are in the lineup to maybe show what our fourth line looks like in this particular environment. Who are the depth guys, who comes in first, second, third at each position? So, you get another look at them, guys that you haven't seen in a while, like a Steen, a Senyshyn, that were here. We got healthy so they got pushed out.

"Studs is another guy that hasn't been here in a while, so how has the time in Providence benefitted him? There are some guys in that list that have played here that we may or may not use as the playoffs go on. If we get where we want to go - we've learned from past experience - that you will need to reach down into your lineup.

"This is a viewing for them, an opportunity for them to show us. And that's what we're here to do, and in the meantime, win a hockey game."

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Once Tuesday's game wraps, the Bruins will get Wednesday off before practicing both Thursday and Friday at Warrior Ice Arena in anticipation of their playoff bout with the Caps.

"Everyone's off," Cassidy said of Wednesday. "I just feel that after the amount of time we've spent at the rink playing and the energy expended to play well... it's good to have an also mental break, too. I think we can get in the rink Thursday, start our conversations about Washington tendencies, build those into practice, get our lights back under us. Friday, drill down a little more. I know that Saturday we're starting. I think we have enough time. I was happy to hear we weren't starting right away, it was going to be Saturday, and even Sunday would have been fine for us. I think after that, now you're getting a little bit too long, now guys are hungry and they want to get going. I think it's a good starting date for us would have been the weekend, and obviously it's Saturday night."

———

The Capitals will roll out more of their starting lineup, but T.J. Oshie and John Carlson are both ruled out due to lower-body injuries. Alex Ovechkin will be a game-time decision — while Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Samsonov remain in COVID protocol.