Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Bruins earn point with third period comeback

January 31, 2021, 9:54 AM ET [9 Comments]
Anthony Travalgia
Boston Bruins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Bruins opening period in Washington Saturday night may have been their best period of the season. The ice was heavily tilted in their favor, outshooting the Capitals 19-7 through 20.

Despite their energetic start, the Bruins trailed 1-0 after Nicklas Backstrom’s laser of a shot beat Tuukka Rask for the lone goal of the period.

From there the Capitals would score the next two goals, extending their lead to three. But the Bruins wouldn’t go down easy, storming back to tie the game at three behind Charlie McAvoy’s first goal of the season with 57.3 seconds left.



But before the Bruins could gain any offensive zone presence in overtime, Alex Ovechkin’s tally just 20 seconds into the extra frame gave the Capitals the extra point.

"I thought we were the better team to be honest with you. If you look at the overall game the end of the day you know we made a few mistakes. They're a team that can capitalize in a hurry, got some guys who can score,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy.

“We had some looks that the [Capitals] saved but also think we missed some off net chances and we certainly could've scored. So at the end of the day, we battled back, I'm looking at it as a positive there were a lot of things I liked about the game."

As Cassidy mentioned, the Bruins were the better team. It was simply a matter of the Capitals cashing in on more chances than the Bruins. It was an effort that on most nights should yield you two points.

"I thought we did a lot of things well, certainly well enough to get two points," Cassidy said. "We got one, so we'll focus on getting two on Monday now."

The overtime loss extended the Bruins point streak to five, giving the Bruins points in all but one game this season.

"We were right there, we carried the play for the majority of the game and they're a great team, they find ways to score goals, that's what they do. They don't need much of an opportunity, but we got to be happy with how we came back and how we played tonight," said Brad Marchand who scored his team leading fifth goal in the loss.

"We just have to keep building on that, if we play like that every night we're going to win a lot more games than we lose. We had a good game."

The two big stories going into the contest was the return of David Pastrnak and seeing Zdeno Chara for the first time as a member of the Capitals.

Showing rust at times, Pastrnak was still solid, showing engagement with eight shot attempts, three landing on net. Chara logged 20:54 of ice time, finishing the night a plus-one.

The Bruins and Capitals will meet seven more times this season, including Monday night’s rematch. With an opportunity to quickly bounce back, McAvoy and the Bruins are already looking forward to Monday’s opportunity.

"We match up well with them, they're obviously a great team and so are we. I think our group responded well to the adversity we had two periods into the game," McAvoy said. "So, from that standpoint, it was a fun challenge and exciting in our end to come back and get a point and an opportunity in 48-hours to try again to get two points."
Join the Discussion: » 9 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Anthony Travalgia
» The End of an Era?
» Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman in Game 7?
» Home Not So Sweet Home
» Bruins Depth On Full Display In Sunrise Sweep
» Bruins Drop Game 2 After Ugly Performance