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Caps 8, Bruins 1 - Capitals Thump Short-Handed Bruins

April 11, 2021, 10:35 PM ET [0 Comments]
Brian Sickles
Washington Capitals Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Hello All,

The Washington Capitals took care of business against the short-handed Boston Bruins on Sunday night. The Capitals rode their power play and depth scoring for one of their most dominating wins of the season, albeit against an undermanned Bruins team. This was a nice bounce back game for Capitals after losing to the same Bruins team 4-2 on Thursday night last week. For the Bruins, this was the second game of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights.


Here are the stats from the game:

Shots on Goal:

WSH – 33

BOS – 35


Shots on Goal (5v5):

WSH – 17

BOS – 29


Faceoff %:

WSH – 46%

BOS – 54%


Power Play:

WSH – 3/6

BOS – 1/4


Hits:

WSH – 13

BOS - 25


Blocks:

WSH – 9

BOS– 5


Scoring Chances For:

WSH – 29

BOS – 19



Scoring Chances For (5v5):

WSH – 14

BOS – 12



High Danger Chances For:

WSH –11

BOS – 7


High Danger Chances For: (5v5):

WSH – 7

BOS – 4


Here are my takeaways from the game:

Capitals Power Play- The Capitals power play went 3/6 against the league’s best penalty kill. If you read my previous post, you know I noted just how much the Capitals power play struggled against the Bruins PK last Thursday. Last Thursday, the Caps only generated 4 SOG and zero high danger chances on SEVEN power plays. Today was generally much better. The Capitals scored three goals, had 15 scoring chances, and added four “high danger” chances on six power plays.

Depth Scoring – Four of the first five goals the Capitals scored came from guys either on the 3rd or 4th line. Conor Sheary had two goals on the night. He now has 10 on the season. Sheary was all over the ice. He was skating hard, backchecking, and he even drew three penalties. Sheary has been an excellent addition for the Caps this year and he only costs the Caps $735k in cap. What a steal. Lars Eller also had two goals tonight and has seven on the season. I thought this was big for Eller in terms of getting his confidence back. Nic Dowd scored a goal to make it 5-0 and ensure there would be no Bruins comeback this time around (The Caps blew two separate three goal leads to the Bruins earlier this season).

T.J. Oshie– Oshie had two goals and an assist. On his second goal, he batted the puck out of mid-air from a Backstrom pass across the middle in front of the net. Not many players can score that goal. Oshie now has 600 career points. Congrats, Oshie!



Ovechkin – Ovi had 10 SOG and somehow didn’t score a goal in an 8-1 blowout.

Goaltending – Vitek Vanecek took care of business in the net. He looked strong when he was tested and he is making a very strong case to be the Capitals 1A for the playoffs. We will know more about the goaltending situation tomorrow. There are rumors the Caps could be in on Bernier. By waiving Panik last week, the Capitals essentially cleared enough space to rent any player with a $4.25M AAV for less. With 14 games remaining on a 56-game season, the Capitals would only have to pay 25% of the contract. Bernier’s AAV is 3M. I am not sure how I feel about bringing in another goalie but if it happens, I will welcome it. While Vanecek and Samsonov have proven they can handle 1A/1B duties, they are also up and down in terms of SV% and GAA. Some of that is honestly on the defense too.

This was a statement game for the Capitals. Heading into tonight’s tilt, the Capitals had not beat a team that currently ranked in the top four of the division since March 16th. In my opinion, the Caps still need to prove they can consistently beat the top teams in the division. This 8-1 thumping of the short-handed Bruins is a pretty good start. I am hopeful this blowout of the Bruins really gives the entire team confidence heading down the stretch.

Next up, the Caps face the Flyers on Tuesday at Capital One Arena in D.C. The Flyers just blew a late third period lead to the Sabres today and lost in regulation. With the Flyers basically in win-now mode, I expect a very spirited effort from Philly on Tuesday. It should be a good one!

Thanks for reading and GO CAPS

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Stats and Facts provided by:

nhl.com/stats
hockey-reference.com
naturalstattrick.com
@CapitalsPR Twitter page

Follow me on Twitter @HB_Capitals

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