BOSTON — most of the Washington Capitals opted no longer to paste around to revel in the silence of TD garden after their 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday, however, Nicklas Backstrom did. He took off his skates and shed his gear. Sweat poured from his forehead. He sat for a moment in his dressing room stall as the device managers scrambled to p.C. Up around him.
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“I assume that is the time while teams are beginning to get collectively and play suitable hockey,” the veteran center said as his teammates headed for the bus. “It’s going to be tight on the stop. Optimistically, this may deliver us a good little raise.”
Train Peter Laviolette had talked to his crew approximately controlling the decibel degree, especially because the sellout crowd fully predicted the home group to preserve a historical beginning. Boston entered Saturday as the NHL’s undisputed alpha with 39 wins and eighty-three factors after fifty-one video games, numbers that have the Bruins tough for the satisfactory document in league records. Instead, a raucous pregame crowd fell into an extraordinary hush early inside the first length after Backstrom wiped clean up a rebound on a five-on-3 energy play to give the Capitals a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I’ve been in this building where they scored three dreams inside the first 10 mins and the constructing is erupting, and it makes it that much more tough location to play,” Laviolette stated. “The begin changed into vital.”
It become a tone-placing victory for the Capitals, who commenced the season’s second half inside the Japanese conference’s 2nd wild-card spot after a ten-day layoff. (This win pushed the Capitals into the first wild-card spot, one point in front of Pittsburgh, which played past due Saturday.) Washington stuck a smash via no longer dealing with Linus Ullmark — the Bruins’ top goalie, who leads the NHL in wins and store percentage — however as a substitute 24-yr-antique backup Jeremy Swayman, who has been solid however not on Ullmark’s all-big name degree.
The Bruins entered the afternoon second in goals and primary in dreams against, and they had the league’s first-class penalty kill and a top-five electricity play. But Washington supplied a blueprint for the way it plans to make a postseason push: with bone-damn physicality, structurally sound defense, and opportunistic scoring. It commenced Saturday in the crease, with goaltender Darcy Kuemper making several acrobatic saves early and his team protecting of him in front of the net.
After making a save in the first, Kuemper withstood a swat at his pad by the Bruins’ Brad Marchand after the whistle had blown. That earned Marchand a fierce crosscheck to the back from Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov. Marchand dropped to his knees and went flying through the ice. A few sticks and gloves went up around him, and penalties had been doled out. Not long after, the Capitals had a strong play that yielded the intention with the aid of Backstrom, who made it 1-zero at 6:28 of a penalty-filled period.
Winger Garnet Hathaway extended the result to 2-zero at 11:forty of the second one after capitalizing on a turnover and sending a wrister past the shoulder of Swayman — with the percent nicking the crossbar on its manner in — despite soaking up a crushing hit from Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton. Hathaway remained on his lower back at the ice and cracked a smile — he misplaced his mouthpiece at the play — as he pointed to the rafters in celebration.
“He performed well,” Laviolette said. “His nostril changed into grimy this night. He had a big purpose. You simply located him in the middle of the whole thing.”
Kuemper used each tool at his disposal on his manner to 27 saves, at times wanting every inch of his 6-foot-five, 215-pound frame to maintain the Bruins at bay, which blanketed extending his keep on with bat away a deflection by using Patrice Bergeron with just over six mins left within the first. Boston sooner or later solved Kuemper while Nick Foligno became left all by myself in the front and trimmed Boston’s deficit to 1 with three:26 left inside the 2d length. However later, Kuemper used his blocker to bat away a knuckling percent from the hall at some point of a four-on-4 play early inside the 1/3.
Marchand and Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin locked horns several instances, consisting halfway through the 0.33 duration, whilst each have been whistled for consequences after a tussle. Boston turned into not able to capitalize — the Capitals helped Kuemper in front at some point of the four-on-four play, along with a key block with the aid of defenseman Nick Jensen — and even after Boston pulled Swayman (21 saves) late and had a six-on-four gain over the final 25 seconds, the Bruins didn’t have sufficient to tie it.
“It’s going time for us. You could see that in the urgency in our play,” Kuemper said. “it would be disappointing to come into this building and no longer positioned inside the attempt we did.”
Wilson, Dowd remains out…
Winger Tom Wilson and center Nic Dowd remained out of the lineup with decrease-frame accidents. Each made development this past week, however, neither practiced with the group. Wilson is listed as every day, and Dowd remains on injured reserve. Washington has accrued 310 man-games ignored, the second maximum in the NHL.
Their endured absences left Washington desiring a further ahead, so it recalled Aliaksei Protas from its American Hockey League associate Friday. Protas became a healthy scratch Saturday, as become defenseman Alexander Alexeyev.
Backstrom, Johansson live warm…
After coming back from an off-season hip resurfacing surgical procedure, Backstrom has located his groove and persisted in his offensive surge with a difficult-fought rebound goal in the first period. It got here with the help by way of Marcus Johansson, who has a point in four direct games (one goal, three assists).
In his past 4 games, Backstrom has two dreams, brought help, and scored the shootout winner in opposition to Pittsburgh on Jan. 26.
