How Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals match up in playoffs
The Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals kick off the 2021 NHL playoffs this upcoming Saturday, May 13. The Bruins, the No. 3 seed in the East division, went 4-2-2 against the Capitals this season, who finished as the No. 2 seed.
Their only two regulation losses have slight asterisks to them, as the Capitals drubbed a shorthanded Boston team 8-1 in mid-April, and just recently, the Capitals took the season finale 2-1 in a game that had most of the Black and Gold regulars out of the lineup.
The two teams last met in the playoffs in 2012 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Bruins fans will remember that as the devastating 2-1 loss in Game 7 in overtime at the hands of Joel Ward.
The winner of these two will face the winner of the No. 1 seed Pittsburgh Penguins and No. 4 New York Islanders. But let’s not get too far ahead. Let’s dive in and see how the Bruins and the Capitals match up against each other.
Who has the edge on offense?
Both offenses are quite similar, where each has a knack for skill and speed, mixed with physicality down low. There’s no denying just how good the Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak line is, but the Capitals have a handful of a first line themselves with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and newly-acquired Anthony Mantha.
Speaking of Mantha, for as good as Taylor Hall has been for the Bruins after getting trading at the deadline, how about Mantha. Eight points in 14 games since getting traded from the Detroit Red Wings to the Capitals, including scoring a goal in his first four games as a Cap.
He went cold to end the season, but he’s been a great pickup. He’s been no Taylor Hall (14 points in 16 games as a Bruin), but key deadline acquisitions from both teams will play a crucial role in this series.
It really is going to come down to depth. It’s been an issue with the Bruins all year, and the trade deadline has seemed to fix it a bit. But can Jake DeBrusk make some more postseason magic happen? Will Charlie Coyle finally snap out his slump now that he’s on the wing? What kind of role will Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner play?
Unless the Bruins just completely ice the top Capitals players, they will need their third and fourth lines to contribute practically every game. The Capitals enjoy depth players like Garnet Hathaway, Nic Dowd, and Carl Hagelin, who have consistently been one of the better fourth lines this season.
The Bruins’ offense has averaged 2.93 goals per game, while the Capitals’ is tied for fourth-best with 3.36. The consistency has just been there a bit more for Washington and while I give the edge of top line to the Bruins, the rest of the lineup needs to find a groove if they want to outplay the Caps’ forwards.
Advantage: Washington
Which team has the advantage along the blue line?
This one is still close, but you can’t deny the numbers. The Bruins, who for the most part all year, have been rotating guys in and out of the six defensemen spots as injuries and COVID protocols have hit the team. But that hasn’t stopped the Bruins from giving up the fourth-least goals allowed per game in the league (2.39).
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With a potential Norris Trophy candidate in Charlie McAvoy leading the way, the group that should be rolled out for the playoffs is McAvoy with Matt Grzelcyk, Brandon Carlo and Mike Reilly, and Connor Clifton and Jeremy Lauzon. The health of Kevan Miller will obviously impact this, but those were the latest line rushes from the B’s.
As for Washington, it’s a group lead by John Carlson, a Norris Trophy finalist last season. The group’s 2.88 goals allowed per game ranked in the middle of the pack.
It’s a familiar face on the other side as Zdeno Chara will be playing against the Bruins. The same guy who raised the Stanley Cup back in 2011, will now be trying to knock off the chances for his former teammates to do just that.
Brendan Dillon is a very underrated, physical defender who will be a pain for the Bruins to deal with down low. Dmitry Orlov has some finesse that can be used in the offensive zone.
Ultimately, with the Bruins being all healthy (for the most part) on defense plus the acquisition of Reilly, it’s enough to put them over the top in this category.
Advantage: Boston
Which team has the better goaltending?
*Insert Will Ferrell “we are laughing” gif*
There is one blatant and obvious weakness of the Washington Capitals, and that is their goaltending. It has been… not good.
With the departure of Braden Holtby this offseason, it looked like it was time for Ilya Samsonov to take over the crease. While he sports a 13-4-1 record, his .902 save percentage (SV%) and 2.69 goals-against average (GAA) is a tad unsightly and he lost the starting job to Vitek Vanacek. Samsonov has been on and off the COVID list a couple of times this season, most recently still in COVID protocol.
Vanacek hasn’t been much better, with the same 2.69 GAA as Samsonov and a .908 SV%, going 21-10-4. He is in line to be named the starter for the postseason, but it isn’t exactly great when the playoffs are just a day away, yet head coach Peter Laviolette won’t be announcing the starting goaltender.
Meanwhile, the Bruins have technically three reliable goaltenders in the crease, all of which I would take over Vanacek. Tuukka Rask is the starter, with Jeremy Swayman as the backup.
Rask was sidelined for a while with an injury, but he has shown no sign of slowing down. A 15-5-2 record with a 2.28 GAA and .913 SV% is what Rask finished the regular season with. And Swayman has been a sensation, with a record of 7-3-0, a 1.50 GAA and .945 SV%.
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Yeah, I think I know who has the edge in the crease.
Advantage: Boston