Resilient Bruins Bury the Washington Capitals in 3-0 Shutout
By Duncan Day
Mar 6, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller (86), celebrates with center Chris Kelly (23), and defenseman Torey Krug (47) during the second period against the Washington Capitals at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Capitals v. Bruins
Recovering from the usual hectic NHL trade deadline, the Boston Bruins were pitted against the Washington Capitals at the Garden, looking to avenge a 4-2 loss to Alex Ovechkin and Co. five days earlier.
The Bruins, as usual, displayed their regular season buoyancy in a 3-0 conquering of the Capitals on Thursday night.
This first period commenced, and neither team established a clear-cut dominance. The Bruins outshot the Canadiens considerably, but they were basically even with the Capitals on threatning scoring opportunities.
Nevertheless, the B’s wouldn’t waste any time capitalizing in the second period. Gregory Campbell redirected Patrice Bergeron‘s pass from the left wing to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. A great play by both players.
From this point on, the Bruins commanded momentum until the end of the match, registering two more goals, one more in the second period and an empty netter in the game’s final two minutes. The Caps struggled offensively besides efforts by Ovechkin.
Loui Eriksson, who’s really been on-and-off this season, skated very well and tallied himself a respectable goal off of Carl Soderberg‘s centering pass from behind the net. Eriksson made sure to bury his shot towards the upper netting to beat Braden Holtby.
Soderberg appears to have the spark that the Bruins could really use in the race for Lord Stanley’s mug. According to NHL.com statistics, Soderberg has three points in the past six games. I think we’ll be seeing the Swedish forward build on his performances as the B’s approach the postseason.
It was great to watch Tuukka Rask between the pipes again after Chad Johnson helped the Bruins to a 4-1 victory over the Tim Thomas and the Florida Panthers.
Rask didn’t see much action in this match. Ovechkin didn’t wreak the same type of havok in the previous game at the Garden.
If you’re a Bruins’ fan, that’s what you have to enjoy about this competition. The defense contained arguably the most lethal scorer in the NHL right now, regaining composure following an embarrassing defeat against the same Capitals crew just days earlier.
That’s resilience, and this characteristic often separates championship-winning teams from talented regular season squads.