BSJ Game Report: Bruins 3, Capitals 2 (2OT) - Smith, Rask give B’s series lead

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 double overtime win over the Capitals  in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

I think we’re starting to notice a trend here, eh?

For a remarkable 12th straight time, a playoff bout between the Bruins and Capitals was decided by a one-goal decision. And for the third time in this series, an extra period of action was required to determine a victor for Game 3 at TD Garden.

… or two overtimes, that is, on Wednesday night. 

It took close to 86 minutes of ice time to put a stop to the action on Causeway Street, but Craig Smith provided the heroics in what stood as Boston’s first playoff game at the Garden in close to two years — with the winger sneaking a puck past a snoozing Ilya Samsonov at 5:48 in double overtime to close out a 3-2 Bruins victory. 

Tuukka Rask kept Boston in the marathon contest with 35 saves on 37 attempts — paving the way for the B’s to take a 2-1 series lead in their first-round series against the Caps. Taylor Hall and Brad Marchand also scored for the Bruins, who outshot Washington by a 19-8 margin in overtime. 

Special teams dedicated large swaths of this contest, with both the Bruins and Capitals earning five trips to the power play — and both clubs burying one chance apiece. 

Trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes of play, the Bruins finally broke through on the man advantage at 11:32 in the third — with Marchand batting a puck past Samsonov to force overtime once more. 

Washington tilted the ice back in its favor following Marchand’s tally — holding an 8-0 edge in shots on goal to close out regulation, but Rask stood tall and Boston managed to tread water before the clock eventually struck zero in the third. 

Boston dominated in the first overtime, peppering Samsonov and generating plenty of Grade-A looks, but it couldn’t quite bury the deciding tally. Of course, when so many quality chances  don’t go your way — it often opens the door for a flukey goal down the other end of the ice, but Smith put an end to such a nightmare scenario.

The opportunistic Smith pounced during what appeared to be a miscommunication between Samsonov and defenseman Justin Schultz behind the net — recovering the loose biscuit and stuffing it home before the Caps goalie could react. 

A good bounce for Smith and the B’s — but one that was well-deserved after putting Washington on the ropes for the last 25+ minutes of play. 

FIVE UP

Craig Smith: Of course, the 2OT hero is going to get his due here — with the winger making a heads-up play to catch the Caps napping and make them pay in short order. Bruce Cassidy regularly uses “second effort” as a way to assess his players, and Smith checked off all those boxes on a 2OT sequence like this. He also earns brownie points for the sweet set-up on Hall’s tally in the second period.

Taylor Hall: Hall’s first playoff goal as a Bruin on Monday was a byproduct of some dogged persistence down at the blue paint— knocking a loose puck past Craig Anderson to force overtime in Game 2. His goal on Wednesday was just a wee bit different, with the winger lighting the lamp by roofing one over Samsonov from a tough angle. You need tenacity and a bit of luck to consistently bury goals in the postseason, but a heaping portion of game-breaking skill is also certainly welcomed — and Hall provided it in the second period.

Tuukka Rask: Well, if you needed Rask to help steal a game in order for him to prove his mettle as the No. 1 guy in net — here you are. For most of the night, the Caps routinely hemmed the B’s in their own zone, extending possessions along the boards and putting pucks on net. But Rask stood tall for most of the night, finishing with 35 total saves. 

Penalty kill: Alex Ovechkin might have eventually buried one of Washington’s five power-play looks on the night, but Boston’s PK as a whole held up pretty well against the Caps — with Washington only holding a 6-4 edge in shots on goal during Boston’s shorthanded TOI. 

Charlie McAvoy: Just another monstrous night for McAvoy — who closed out the game with 33:52 of ice time, a helper, three shots on goal, three hits and two takeaways. 

FOUR DOWN

Power Play: Marchand eventually buried the equalizer in the third period, but this was still far from a stellar showing from the B’s man-advantage — especially on a 5-on-3 sequence in the first that Boston should have capitalized on. 

Reilly-Carlo pairing: Bit of a rough going from this D pair when it came to dealing with the Capitals forecheck for most of the night. Boston might need to shelter Reilly quite a bit in order to avoid situations where he gets hemmed in the D-zone. 

David Pastrnak: He might have led the Bruins in shots on goal (nine total), but Pastrnak is going to get knocked for his costly blue-line turnover that led to Nic Dowd’s goal in the closing minutes of the second period. He’s certainly due to break through on the scoresheet. 

Brad Marchand: As we noted in our postgame column on Monday night, you kind of have to take the good with the bad when it comes to the Marchand experience. But after getting whistled for a pair of penalties in Game 2, the winger was knocked for an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Wednesday after getting involved in some post-whistle antics with Brenden Dillon. Given Marchand’s reputation and how tight the refs were calling this one, it was a bad penalty to take — and led to Ovechkin’s power-play goal shortly thereafter. He made up for it once again with his goal in the third, but Marchand needs to stop giving the Caps chances on the power play.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Easy pick here.

PARTING THOUGHTS

A fitting selection for the Bruins’ first fan-banner captain of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

 QUOTE OF THE DAY

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will continue their first-round series on Friday night with Game 4 at TD Garden. Puck drop is once again set for 6:30 p.m.