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Boston Bruins Round Table: Predictions for playoff series against Capitals

By Matt Hawkins

Apr 18, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Brad Marchand (63) and center Patrice Bergeron (37) are congratulated at the bench after Marchand scored as Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov (9) skates away during the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 18, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Brad Marchand (63) and center Patrice Bergeron (37) are congratulated at the bench after Marchand scored as Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov (9) skates away during the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 11, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Boston Bruins center Curtis Lazar (20) scores a goal on Washington Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) in the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
May 11, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Boston Bruins center Curtis Lazar (20) scores a goal on Washington Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) in the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

The Boston Bruins are set to square up with the East Division’s second-place Washington Capitals in the first round the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. As usual this will be a best-of-seven series, which means the first team to four wins is the victor in the series and will advance to the next round.

This season, the B’s have faired well against the Caps, going 4-2-2 against them. However, these games have been physical and quite close at times. It’ll be interesting to see if the Black and Gold can hold their emotions in check with Tom Wilson being able to run rampant on the ice after his actions against the New York Rangers and knocking Brandon Carlo out of action for over a month.

In preparation of the series, I got the Causeway Crowd team together to unveil how they think this series will unfold.

Boston Bruins – Washington Capitals Series Prediction:
Matt Hawkins

The B’s handled the Caps quite well this season. As mentioned earlier, they went 4-2-2 against Washington this season.

However, I think the B’s will have a much tougher time in the playoffs against the Caps than in the regular season.

These two teams are built similarly. Boston has two dominating lines at the top and so does Washington. Additionally, both teams have defenses that can produce offensively from the blueline.

However, the key difference between these two teams is the B’s ability to play team defense and shutdown their opposition. To go along with their stout defense, the Black and Gold currently have three very capable goalies to choose from: Tuukka Rask, Jeremy Swayman, and Jaroslav Halak. The choices will be in that order as Rask will the starter.

The Caps just do not have this ability to shutdown their opposition. They can play well defensively, but with their defense and the lackluster goaltending from Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanacek, don’t have the ability that the B’s possess to fully shutdown another team, especially one with the offense that Boston has.

Prediction: Bruins in 6

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