Boston Bruins: Dominant first period takes out the Capitals

The Boston Bruins scored four goals in the first period and never looked back.

No team owned the Boston Bruins this decade like the Washington Capitals. Boston, however, got the last laugh on Monday night.

The Bruins emerged victorious and ended their four-game homestand with a 7-3 victory over the Capitals. A strong first period was the big reason why.

Game recap: Bruins vs Capitals

The Bruins jumped out to an early lead in the first period, and they never looked back. Jake DeBrusk got things started with a power play goal, and then the Bruins put three more on the board before the period ended.

Brad Marchand and Anders Bjork scored not even a minute apart from each other to extend the lead to 3-0. Patrice Bergeron followed up with goal number four.

Down by four, everybody expected the Capitals to come out strong in the second. That was the case, as the Bruins only finished with two shots on goal in the period. One of those shots went in, so the Bruins ended the period still up by four.

The Bruins maintained their lead in the third, and thanks to two empty-netters, they finished with a 7-3 victory over Washington. This is Boston’s first win over the Capitals in three tries this year.

Credit to Tuukka Rask for some quality saves in the second period. It’s easy to overlook the goalie when the team scores seven goals, but he played well enough in the second for Boston to maintain its multi-goal lead.

Physical play between the Bruins and Capitals stands out

Other than Boston’s dominant first period, the physical play from both sides definitely stood out in the game. Once the Capitals went down by a few goals, they started to get chippy.

In one particular moment in the third period, Washington forward Tom Wilson went after Pastrnak in front of the benches. Pastrnak and Marchand responded, and before you knew it there was a major scrum near center ice.

All in all, the Capitals out-hit the Bruins 40-19 in the game. This might be a sign that the Bruins need more size and toughness in the lineup.

Torey Krug and Charlie McAvoy leave the game with injuries

Earlier in the game, Wilson had a big hit on Torey Krug. The hit wasn’t dirty, but it knocked Krug out of the game in the second. He didn’t return for the third.

T.J. Oshie also had a big hit late in the game on Charlie McAvoy.  McAvoy labored his way to the bench and did not play in the final minutes.

There weren’t any post-game injury updates, other than Krug has an apparent upper-body injury. The Bruins need both guys in the lineup, so hopefully they’ll be back at the end of the week.

The Bruins now hit the holiday break still in first place in the Atlantic. They’ll be back on the ice Friday night against the Buffalo Sabres.