Combination of grit and finesse serve Bruins well as they even series with Capitals
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WASHINGTON — First some grit, then some finesse, and the Bruins on Monday night muscled their way right back to front and center in their first-round series with the Capitals.
Taylor Hall brought grit, charging in from the right side to mash in the 3-3 equalizer late in the third period. Then Matt Grzelcyk and Brad Marchand worked their magic with Grzelcyk sending a perfect diagonal feed from above the left wing circle for Marchand to ram home with a one-timer. All of it set up by an alert play around the blue line by David Krejci, getting the puck over to Grzelcyk with the Capitals in disarray in their own end of the ice.
The 4-3 overtime win, only 39 clicks into the extra session, evened the best of seven series, 1-1, and now it’s back to Boston for Games 3 and 4.
“We had to play better,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “Everyone came to play. A little bit of a tough start (in the first period), and we’ll have to address that, but we played better.”
Among the keys was Jake DeBrusk, who scored first again for the Bruins, earning him a move up from the fourth line. Charlie Coyle, much more on his game, too, moved back to work at center.
Observations from the game:
· Ex-Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was on the Capitals bench for the third period, but did not see action. Big Z popped off the bench briefly to move his legs during stops in play, flexing them as if something was a bother. But he did not return to action, his ice time fixed at 12:53, roughly a one-third reduction from his average ice time this season.
· The Bruins owned a huge advantage (63 percent) on faceoffs through three periods, a factor in their 47-39 shot advantage. Win the faceoff, gain control.
Leading the way at the dot through regulation: Patrice Bergeron (17 for 28) and David Krejci (10 for 14).
· Hall’s goal to tie it at 3 was a result of precisely the net-front grind the Bruins have to employ in this series. With the puck banging around a fallen Craig Anderson, Hall powered in from the right side and forced himself in the mosh pit, which in turned forced the puck under and behind Anderson.
· The nasty level, a rolling boil in Game 1, spilled over the top of the pot right from the start in Game 2. It was the 10th time this season the two sides faced one another. No one had to wonder if they were fed up with each other.
Much of the nastiness was around the Boston net, where the Capitals continued to jam after whistles following good scoring attempts, much like the old Broad Street Bullies.
The Bruins returned with similar aggressiveness at the other end, which cost them a bit when Brad Marchand was whistled off for roughing at 13:54 of the first.
· DeBrusk’s goal, with 5:05 gone in the first, gave him Boston’s first goal for the second straight game. The Bruins caught a big break with Anderson straying a bit too far from his net and colliding with Brenden Dillon. Coyle circled behind the net and fed the puck out for DeBrusk to pot into an open net, Anderson yet to recover his position. Just what the Bruins need in the series, to get the Capitals flustered.
· The Bruins were overwhelmed at the start and trailed, 8-1, in shots after three minutes. DeBrusk’s goal helped put a charge and pace into their game. At the end of 20 minutes, shots stood 18-18, an impressive 17-10 turnaround for the Bruins after withstanding the Capitals’ early ferociousness.
Maybe they were slow to get going, but putting rubber to the net was Job 1 for the Bruins heading into the night. Anderson has barely played the last two seasons. The Bruins had to put shots his way, try to rattle him. The theme is not going to change.
· Kevan Miller disappeared to the dressing room after one shift. Initially a bad sign for the veteran blueliner, back this year after missing last season due to a cracked kneecap. The good news: looking chipper, Miller returned to the Boston bench with 50 seconds left in the period.
Miller played eight shifts in the second period and had logged 6:03 in ice time. The ex-University of Vermont defenseman is a stabilizing force on the back end, not so much for his limited offense but for his strength and toughness. He is among the few in the Boston lineup who can get into it with Tom Wilson if the Caps tough guy steps out of line.
· Wilson got caught embellishing at 13:31 of the second period when Connor Clifton interfered with him near the Washington bench. The crowd of some 5,000 took great objection to Wilson being caught for cheating.
There was once a time when NHL tough guys would have been embarrassed to drop and flop. Not Wilson. At least not in Game 2 of a series in which his team could take a 2-0 lead. Anything goes.
· With 6:22 gone in the second, John Carlson was whistled off for hauling down Hall. Hall hadn’t been putting points on the scoresheet, but it was the third penalty the ex-Sabre drew in the two games. And an indication that: 1. He has been moving his legs and 2. The Capitals don’t want to cede open ice to the ex-MVP.
· T.J. Oshie and Garnet Hathaway had Washington’s two goals in the first. Both beat Tuukka Rask on tips, Oshie tipping an Alexander Ovechkin wrister and Hathaway putting the touch to a Dmitry Orlov shot. The Capitals’ first five goals of the series came on tips, including Nic Dowd’s OT winner in Game 1.
· The Capitals lost forward Lars Eller midway through the second period. In the first period, the ex-Canadien beat Bergeron on a faceoff, setting up the Orlov shot that Hathaway tipped for his goal. Washington has been leaning on Eller for more because Evgeny Kuznetsov is yet to returnafter a long stretch on the COVID-19 list.
· The Bruins had a fairly healthy 33-27 shot lead over the opening 40 minutes. What they didn’t have, for a second straight game, was much in the way of follow-up chances after first attempts. They’ll need those if they hope to advance. As is much of the playoffs, this is a grind series and the Bruins need more of it.