Bruins Take a Point in SO Loss to Caps

(Photo: Alan Sullivan)

After ending their four-game losing skid with the 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night while on the road, the Boston Bruins were right back at it in Boston on Saturday, playing host to the Washington Capitals. The Bruins record against the Caps in the last couple of seasons has been against the players in black and gold even when their best players are dressed, so there were some doubts going into Saturday night’s game with Boston missing some of their key players, having called up yet another of their AHL Providence Bruins, Paul Carey, when it was clear that Patrice Bergeron would not be playing.

The Bruins are not a team though that uses the lack of veterans in the lineup as any type of excuse—not even when they are playing the top team in the league.

“But when injuries happen—and we’ve got a few right now—we need guys to step up and take that challenge. That’s a great test against one of the best teams in the league, if not the best team right now. That’s all you can do in those situations. If going through that adversity a little bit, that helps us, that helps other guys carry more responsibility, build confidence, so that’s got to be our mindset,” said Charlie Coyle.

Coyle, upon learning of Bergeron’s inability to play Saturday expected to be moved to the second line center position with David Krejci being moved up to center the first line between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. He was a respectable 43 percent and took the most faceoffs of any of the Bruins—winning six of fourteen. But more importantly, with some strong “havoc” as he called it by his left winger Anders Bjork, and his right winger Danton Heinen finding a seam, Coyle managed to put the Bruins on the scoreboard first.

Throughout the game the Capitals prevented the Bruins from getting very many shots on net. Each of the three periods saw Washington with double digit shots (18, 12, 11) while the Bruins were limited to half as many (9, 6, 6).

Despite this disparity, there were some strong plays by the Bruins, and some absolute heroics from Bruins goaltender Jaroslav Halak when the Bruins made mistakes. The Capitals were able to tie the score roughly three minutes after Coyle’s goal. During the second period, Pastrnak put the Bruins up 2-1, which was where things stood until the game was down to the final 59 seconds of regulation.

With Braden Holtby on the bench for the extra attacker, and the Bruins unable to simply ice the puck as they might have been able to on a power play, T.J. Oshie knotted the score and once again the Bruins couldn’t close the game out in overtime. Coyle got the only goal for the Bruins when things went to the shootout, but right now the shootout is definitely not a friend to Boston. This time it did have to go five rounds before Jakub Vrana potted a highlight reel worthy goal to give the Capitals the extra point.

Make no mistake, the Bruins were not satisfied with their play, nor with their ongoing struggles in the shootout.

“You want two points. You take all the points you can get, but you want to be able to shut the door there when you’ve got the lead like that that late in the game and especially for your goaltender who’s played so well. You want to end things on the right note for him. He kept us in the game. It’s tough to get points in this league, it is, but when we’re on top like that, we have to come away with two. I think that’s the mindset that we have to have,” Coyle said.

The Bruins room after the game was subdued. They understand that they need to do better, and that they have to do it regardless of who is in the lineup. However, when you consider that the Bruins have seven players on IR right now: David Backes, Jake DeBrusk, Karson Kuhlman, Zach Senyshyn, Torey Krug, Kevan Miller, and John Moore, plus the current day-to-day injuries of Brett Ritchie and now Patrice Bergeron, almost half of Saturday night’ roster was comprised of call ups from Providence.

Taking on the top team in the league, being outshot 44-23 in three regulation periods plus overtime and walking away with a point is still a positive and speaks to the depth that the Bruins have. The team sits first in the Atlantic Division through 20 games, having 29 points and a +18 goal differential. They should neither be counted out nor dismissed.