Boston’s Gregory Campbell’s deflection on a delayed penalty opened up the scoring 3:05 into the second period, and that’s all the Bruins needed in a complete defensive shutdown of the Washington Capitals at TD Garden, holding the Caps to just 16 shots en route to a 3-0 shutout win.
“We played for the full 60, we played through our system, our whole back pressure was great, we didn’t give them too many odd man rushes,… B’s center Patrice Bergeron noted, adding, “We played well, we played tight and just respected our system. When we do that, good things happen.…
Holding the Capitals to just four shots in the first -- and holding them to just one shot in the final 17 minutes of the opening frame -- the Boston defense simply never let up. Working the Caps into a familiar hole they faced in Philadelphia the night before, the Caps were outshot by the Bruins 27-8 through two periods, and that was something the Black-and-Gold were undoubtedly aware of.
“We jumped on them early, we had some good legs tonight, we were first on pucks. We knew that they played last night,… said Bergeron, who finished the night with eight shots on net and three takeaways. “After the second we talked about that they were in that same situation last night and they came back. So we had to keep pushing, keep forcing and I thought we had a great third as well.…
The Bruins jumped out to 2-0 edge behind Loui Eriksson’s seventh goal of the season, his second in 17 games since coming back from his second concussion of the year and a welcomed sight after the 28-year-old winger missed Tuesday’s game against Florida with a minor heel injury.
With two goals and nine points in his last 17 games, and forming a solid connection with Chris Kelly and Carl Soderberg on the Bruins’ third line, it appears that the B’s are finally seeing the offensive spark that Eriksson dazzled with during his tenure with the Dallas Stars.
“He’s been a pretty good player, and again, I don’t know how many times I’ve said it, but you know, he’s had, we had to give him that opportunity to find his game after going through those two serious concussions and that really set him back,… Boston coach Claude Julien noted after the win, the club’s third in a row. “But I think we’re starting to see the smart player that we all talked about at the beginning of the year, both ways. You know, he makes smart plays and he also defends well. He’s, he’s been a really good player, and you know, I just saw him starting to find his game before the Olympic break. I saw him play well at the Olympics, and it’s followed up here since he’s been back.…
This was about as by the book a win as the Bruins could’ve asked for tonight. All four lines were simply dominant in all facets of the game. Their dogged determination on the forecheck and in the attacking zone completely gassed the Capitals, forcing Braden Holtby to stand on his head. Which by the way, he did for the most part, finishing the night with 40 saves on 42 shots. In their own zone, the Bruins were simply stifling, keeping the puck away from the Caps’ skill players, and holding Washington to just 23 shot attempts for the entire game. The entire game.
It was the complete opposite of last Saturday’s showdown with the Capitals, where the Bruins granted the Caps easy access into their zone, took bad penalties (the Bruins didn’t take a single penalty in tonight’s game, by the way), and were caught flat footed far too often.
For 60 minutes, the Bruins were inventive and creative in the offensive zone, suffocating in the defensive zone, and smart in the neutral zone. That’s enough for Julien to sleep well tonight.
“I think our guys did a great job of pinning them in. I think our forecheck was really good again tonight, we wanted our guys to be a little bit more physical on the forecheck and finish their checks on these guys. They played last night, they’re a little young back there, so it was important for us to get on them physically and make them throw pucks away, and guys did a great job,… Julien noted, adding, “I think our D’s were reading those plays well also and pinching at the right time, but we got some better support from our forwards when our D pinched tonight than we did in the past games.…
It also helped that the Capitals looked every bit like a club that just played last night, too.
Up next
The Bruins will head to Florida for a brief two-game tour of the Sunshine State, with a Saturday night stop in Tampa Bay and a Sunday early bird special against the Panthers. The Lightning trail the Bruins by 12 points in the Atlantic Division -- the Bruins are in first and the Lightning in fourth -- but will enter the game looking to claw their way back into the hunt for the Atlantic and snap a three-game losing skid. Expect newly named captain Steven Stamkos to throw everything he can towards the Bruins’ net in his first game against the club since breaking his leg on Nov. 11.