BSJ Game Report: Bruins 4, Capitals 3 (OT) - Marchand's OT winner gives B's new life

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-3 overtime win over the Capitals in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

B's punch back

Well, my Bruins in 5 prediction is still in play — even if said result might require a few more overtimes and a whole bunch of heart palpitations.

Trailing by a goal with less than three minutes to play in regulation, the Bruins rallied back on Monday night to avoid an 0-2 series deficit against the Capitals — with Taylor Hall burying the equalizer at 17:11 and setting the stage for a Brad Marchand OT winner 31 seconds into the new frame to cap off a 4-3 comeback win in Game 2 at Capital One Arena. 

With Marchand’s game-winning tally, the Bruins and Caps are tied in their best-of-seven series, 1-1, with the B’s set to return to Boston for Game 3 on Wednesday night. 

Jake DeBrusk and Patrice Bergeron also scored for the Bruins — while Tuukka Rask stopped 36 of the 39 shots that came his way in the win. 

After failing to pepper Craig Anderson in net for most of Saturday’s Game 1, the Bruins landed 48 shots against the veteran netminder on Monday — but the Caps’ fourth-string goalie managed to keep his team afloat for most of the night, turning aside 12 high-danger scoring chances.

But after stopping over 30 shots in a row from the first period through the closing minutes of regulation, a scramble down low gave Boston new life — with Hall burying a loose puck from the blue paint for keep the B’s alive. 

A painful OT result was not going to be in the cards this time for Boston, as David Krejci intercepted a clearing attempt and fed the puck over to Matt Grzelcyk — who promptly set up a one-time blast from Marchand to close things out just 39 seconds into OT.

It’s only going to get tougher for Bruins in this series

Be it an 0-2 deficit or a 1-1 deadlock, it’s clear that what we’ve seen so far in this series (a pair of physical, largely one-goal games requiring overtime) is probably going to be what we get for however long this first-round matchup lasts.

Boston does have plenty to build off of from this beyond just the new life that comes with avoiding an 0-2 hole, whether it be bounce-back showings from guys like  Marchand or encouraging outings from the second and third lines.

But even if matchups should favor Boston in this series, it’s not going to come easy — especially if the Capitals get Evgeny Kuznetsov back in the lineup later this week. Adjustments will need to be made, especially when it comes to perhaps adding more heft to the lineup in order to help box out the Caps’ bigger bodies down low. It's going to be a bar fight (as we largely expected), but Boston has to feel pretty good about leaving D.C. with a series split. 

FOUR UP

Brad Marchand: What a turnaround from Marchand in this one, who was likely heading for the "down" list after a pretty quiet three periods of regulation — well, aside from the pair of tough penalties the B's top winger shouldn't be taking a tight game like this (especially given Washington's high-powered power play). Still, all is likely forgiven thanks to his OT winner, which hopefully starts a rebound during regulation play, starting on Wednesday. Boston could certainly use it. 

Taylor Hall: Boston’s new-look second line was dormant for most of the series so far, but a tremendous effort from Hall allowed the B’s to force overtime in this one — with Boston’s top deadline pickup finding a loose puck and firing it into twine with just 2:49 left in regulation. 

Jake DeBrusk: Make it two goals in two games for DeBrusk — who was rewarded for a strong Game 1 with a promotion up to the third line. While you could make the case that DeBrusk is best utilized when he’s penciled in at left wing, he made the most of his bump up the depth chart, planting himself down low and knocking in Charlie Coyle’s feed in the first period. A tough look that he wasn’t able to bury that third-period chance against Anderson, but given where his game was at just a few weeks ago, it’s been night and day so far in this series for the suddenly revitalized winger.

Charlie McAvoy: Boston's D corps struggled at times against the Caps' big bodies, but McAvoy just went out and had a monstrous game — logging 26:44 of ice time (including 3:53 of shorthanded TOI), landing five shots on goal, doling out five hits, posting a plus-4 rating and finishing with a shot share of 64.71% (i.e. Boston held a 33-18 edge in shot attempts during his 5v5 ice time). Franchise D-man stuff. 

THREE DOWN

Kevan Miller: I mean, I don’t know what Miller was doing here with this pinch. Just a brutal decision to make in a tie game. 

David Pastrnak: He helped generate Bergeron's tally with a feed and a keep-in, but Pastrnak's finishing is still leaving a lot to be desired, especially on the power play. Especially against a goalie like Anderson, Pastrnak just needs to keep things simple and pepper the net.

Fourth Line: A Ritchie-Coyle-DeBrusk line stood out for most of their shifts, but the same can't be said for a new-look Kuraly-Lazar-Wagner grouping, with that line only logging 5:58 of 5v5 ice time in the win. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

I mean, what else was it going to be?

PARTING THOUGHTS

QUOTE OF THE DAY

LOOKING AHEAD:

The Bruins will now return home to TD Garden for Games 3 and 4 of their series against Washington. Game 3 is set for Wednesday night on Causeway Street with a 6:30 p.m. puck drop.