Bruins at Capitals 4/8/21: Swayman earns another start

Tonight, the Boston Bruins take on the Washington Capitals for the fifth of eight times this season. Over the previous four games, the B’s are 2-0-2 against the Caps.

The last time these two teams met, the Black and Gold dominated Washington 5-1 after Tom Wilson knocked defenseman Brandon Carlo out of the game with a hit to the head. Carlo missed a month of action, while Wilson missed just seven games due to suspension.

While Carlo took the highroad when asked about the hit saying he doesn’t have a grudge against Wilson, the rest of the B’s may not feel the same and may use this as motivation tonight.

If this is the case, we could witness another blowout tonight. But this will definitely be much easier said than done with the injuries the Black and Gold are currently dealing with.

Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals projected lineups.

Boston Bruins
Record: 20-10-6 (46 points)

The B’s just can’t catch a break with injuries this season. Right wing Ondrej Kase has been out since the second game of the season and defenseman Brandon Carlo came back from his supposed concussion but is now out again with a different upper-body injury.

The Black and Gold were looking like they were getting back to full health with the return of Kevan Miller, but now Charlie McAvoy is out until at least Sunday. Boston is also still without goaltenders Tuukka Rask (upper-body injury) and Jaroslav Halak (COVID-19).

With McAvoy and Carlo out, Steve Kampfer and Kevan Miller will be in the lineup. After an impressive first career NHL start for his first career NHL win, Bruce Cassidy is going back to Jeremy Swayman in net. Dan Vladar will back him up.

Expect the Bruins to look like this tonight:

Marchand – Bergeron – Smith
Ritchie – Krejci – Pastrnak
DeBrusk – Coyle – Kuhlman
Frederic – Kuraly – Wagner

Grzelcyk – Miller
Lauzon – Clifton
Zboril – Kampfer

Swayman (Vladar)

Washington Capitals
Record: 25-10-4 (54 points)

The Caps are relatively healthy. Daniel Sprong will not play tonight, however. Daniel Carr will take his spot on the third line.

Vitek Vanecek started on Tuesday, so Ilya Samsonov will be in net tonight.

Expect the Capitals to look like this tonight:

Ovechkin – Kuznetsov – Oshie
Sheary – Backstrom – Wilson
Vrana – Eller – Carr
Hagelin – Dowd – Hathaway

Dillon – Carlson
Orlov – Schultz
Chara – Jensen

Samsonov (Vanecek)

Where and when to watch Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals.

Time: 7 PM EST

Location: Capital One Arena

TV Broadcast: NESN, NBCSWA, ESPN+

Radio Broadcast: 98.5 The Sports Hub

Swayman was extremely impressive in his debut saving 40 out of 42 shots. Tonight is a bit of a tougher matchup for him as he has to deal with Alex Ovechkin and co. Hopefully, the B’s can make Swayman’s life a bit easier than his debut.