The Boston Bruins enter the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs as the number three seed, with a first round matchup against the number two seed Washington Capitals. In the regular season, both teams were tied with five games a piece against each other. Both teams have the physicality and skill to push this series to a full seven game battle. With the Bruins new acquisitions of Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar and Mike Reilly and the Capitals addition of Michael Raffl and Anthony Mantha before the trade deadline, this wasn’t going to be an easy four game sweep.
Game One Review: Capitals (3)-Bruins (2) (OT) (0-1 Caps)
Game one between these teams saw a Washington Capitals OT victory. Tom Wilson opened the scoring in the first period, with assists from Oshie and Sprong. Brenden Dillon scored in the second period with assists from Mantha and Ovechkin. Nic Dowd scored the OT winner with assists by Oshie and Wilson. Jake DeBrusk opened the scoring for Boston with a Curtis Lazar assist, and Nick Ritchie scored with assists from Pastrnak and McAvoy. Tuukka Rask made 23 saves on 26 shots, while the Capitals goaltender Craig Anderson made 21 saves in relief of starting goalie Vitek Vanecek who was injured on DeBrusk’s goal in the first period.
Game Two Review: Capitals (3)-Bruins (4) (OT) (1-1 tied)
Game two between the teams once again went into overtime, but with the Bruins coming out on top. DeBrusk opened the scoring with assists from Coyle and Ritchie. Bergeron scored with an assist from Pastrnak, and Hall tying the game late to force OT with assists from Smith and Grzelcyk. Marchand would score 39 seconds into OT with assists from Grzelcyk and Krejci. For Washington, Oshie scored first with assists by Ovechkin and Carlson, and Hathaway scoring two goals. Tuukka Rask stopped 45 of 48 shots for the win.
Game Three Review: Capitals (2)-Bruins (3)(OT2)(2-1 Bruins)
Game three went into double OT, with the Boston Bruins pulling away with a 2-1 series lead. Ovechkin opened the scoring with an assist from Mantha, and Dowd scored in the second with an assist from Hathaway. Taylor Hall scored with assists from Smith and Miller, with Marchand scoring in the third to force OT then OT2 with assists from Bergeron and McAvoy. In double OT, Craig Smith scored on an unfortunate miss play by Samsonov to Schultz which gave the Bruins the win. Rask stopped 35 of 37 shots on goal.
Game Four Review: Capitals (1)-Bruins (4) (3-1 Bruins)
Game four saw the first regulation win in this series. The Boston Bruins won by a score of 4-1, taking a 3-1 series lead. This win also pushed Tuukka Rask into first place for playoff victories in Bruins history. Marchand opened the scoring in the second period with assists from Pastrnak and McAvoy. Pastrnak gets his first of the series with assists from McAvoy and Krejci. Coyle scored pretty soon after with assists from DeBrusk and Ritchie. Grzelcyk scored the game winner with assists from McAvoy and Hall. Ovechkin’s slap shot was redirected by Carlo’s stick, with assists given to Carlson and Backstrom. Rask stopped 36 of 37 shots on net. Kevan Miller was taken out of the game early in the second by a late hit from Dmitry Orlov. Orlov was only assessed a double minor roughing penalty for the hit, in which he left his feet and targeted Miller’s head. Miller had to stay overnight in the hospital and was released Sunday morning. Jarred Tinordi has been inserted into the lineup in Millers place.
Game Five Review: Capitals (1)-Bruins(3) (4-1 Bruins)
Game five saw the Boston Bruins win their first round series against the Washington Capitals. David Pastrnak opened the scoring in the second on a beautiful goal sequence, with an assist from Mike Reilly. Bergeron put up two goals with assists from Reilly and Pastrnak. Conor Sheary had the Caps lone goal with assists from Oshie and Orlov. Tuukka Rask stopped 40 of 41 shots on goal. The Bruins now have at least a week off as they prepare to face the winner of the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders series. That series is tied at two games.
Until Next Time
~RJL