BSJ Game Report: Capitals 3, Bruins 2 (OT) - B’s fail to land punch against Anderson, shorthanded Caps

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Caps in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

B’s can’t capitalize against Caps

It’s just one game — but man, the Bruins have to be kicking themselves for failing to land a haymaker against a Capitals team that had a cold, 39-year-old goalie pressed into service in this series opener. 

Despite losing starting netminder Vitek Vanecek to injury at 13:10 in the first period, Washington managed to weather the storm on Saturday night at Capital One Arena — with Nic Dowd scoring at 4:41 in overtime to secure a 3-2 win and a 1-0 series lead for the Caps in their first-round series against Boston. 

Vanecek’s injury and the insertion of Craig Anderson between the pipes should have spelled doom for Washington — given that Anderson appeared in a whopping four games during the regular season. 

But rather than pepper Anderson early and often, the Bruins made things easy on the opposing goalie — missing 21 (!) shots on net in the loss, while their big guns in Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand combined for just one shot on goal. 

Yes, Tuukka Rask (29 saves on 32 shots) is going to want that OT tally back after the puck struck him in the chest and slipped through his five-hole. No question. 

But Boston shouldn’t have even been in such a precarious position in a game where you were matched up against a fourth-string goalie — one that saw a whopping 71 shots on goal all season long.   

Boston still has plenty of things to build from this game — whether it some contributions from bottom-six skaters (both tallies on the night came from Jake DeBrusk and Nick Ritchie) or the fact that Washington’s three tallies came off deflections and a 3-on-1 rush off a broken stick from Charlie McAvoy. 

But given how much just one game can shift the momentum of a series, Boston really should be steamed for letting Anderson and the Caps off the hook here. 

TWO UP

Jake DeBrusk: You can’t overstate just how important a game like this can be for DeBrusk. After a brutal regular season, it sure seems like DeBrusk is embracing the clean slate that the playoffs represent — with the 24-year-old winger providing plenty of energy on the fourth line. Of course, that first-period tally is just what he needs to build some momentum, but the other details of his game were also impressive — including a spirited backcheck on Carlson that disrupted the defenseman’s shot at the last second. Plenty of positives to build from a game like this for No. 74. 

Nick Ritchie: Boston’s power play labored for most of the night against the Caps’ PK, but Ritchie kept things simple and was rewarded for it in the second period — planting himself down low in front of Anderson and getting credited for a tally after David Pastrnak’s shot bounced off him and John Carlson and past the Caps goalie. Wasn’t pretty — but a goal is a goal.

FOUR DOWN

Third D pairing: Granted, this duo had a pretty tough gig when it comes to earning a heavy amount of reps against Alex Ovechkin and Co., but Boston still found itself on the ropes more often than not when Washington got this matchup — with the Caps holding a 15-7 edge in shot attempts and a 10-2 advantage in scoring chances when Ovechkin was on the ice at the same time as Jeremy Lauzon. 

Boston’s shot selection: Give credit to Anderson for coming in cold and keeping the Caps afloat in this one, but it’s not like the Bruins made things particularly difficult on the veteran netminder. Sure, the Caps did a pretty good job of packing it in around their goalie, but Boston simply whiffed or failed to hit the net on multiple occasions, finishing the game with just 26 shots on goal off of 63 total shot attempts. Not good enough, especially given the state of Washington’s goaltending situation.

Tuukka Rask: Listen, it’s ok to admit that both Rask AND the Bruins’ offense needed to be better in this one. You can do it. It’s fine. Granted, Rask at least managed to keep Boston in it during a pretty lopsided third period, but methinks he sure would want that OT tally back.  

Top-six unit: A quiet night from Boston’s big guns played a big part in why the Bruins failed to make life miserable for Anderson in this one — with Bergeron and Marchand combining for one shot on goal and one high-danger scoring chance.

PLAY OF THE GAME

PARTING THOUGHTS

Just a spitting image, right? 

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