That man, yeah the one in the picture might as well be an evil terminator sent from the future to destroy the hopes of every other player and team in the NHL. Alex Ovechkin scoured 2 goals in this game and singlehandedly helped lead his team towards the dominant outcome that the Capitals enjoyed on the first day of March.
Playing in their second game since the Olympic break, the Bruins came in still feeling a bit of the shame of loosing to the lowly Sabers on Wednesday night. With Tuukka Rask back in net however, this seemed like a team who was ready to take out these Capitals and simply snag a win. But unfortunately for Boston, things did not necessarily follow that path. Though the Bruins jumped into a shot heavy offensive set, they did something early in the game that you just cannot get away with when you are playing against the Capitals. They committed penalties.
All season long, the combination of Niklas Backstrom and oh so potent Alexander Ovechkin have made it so that the Capitals have scored on close to 1 quarter of their power plays. Ridiculosly, they score these power play goals largely off of an unmatched mantra of shot taking. They average 7 shots per power play opportunity. The Bruins however were taking penalties right from the start of this game and it did not take them long to feel the effects of that Washington power play.
Carl Soderberg was whistled for holding the stick 4 minutes into the game and on the ensuing power play, though they did not score, the Capitals pelted Tuukka Rask with 5 shots and close to a constant presence in the offensive zone for that entire 2 minute advantage. As if that was not good enough, after Boston squandered a 2 minute 5 on 3 advantage later in the period, a Chris Kelly interference penalty put the Capials on the man advantage once again. This time, the league's best power play scorer was up to the task of putting the puck in the back of the net. With under 2 minutes left in the 1st period, Alex Ovechkin put the Capitals up 1-0.
"Well, I mean, if he gets those one-timers with a half-empty net, you're pretty much going to score. You have to recognize that he's out there and I don't think we did a very good job today with that," said Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask, "He had that shot in the first period before he scored and then he gets that goal and the next one I was almost positive he was going short sided, but he kind of knuckled and he stalled and it went in. But if you keep giving him those one-timers he's going to find the back of the net."
4 minutes later, 2 minutes into the 2nd period, Ovechkin doubled that lead scoring another power play goal, this time off of a tripping penalty charged to Matt Bartowski. When Joel Ward absolutely humiliated the Bruins defense later in the period when he intercepted a D to D pass and roared his way up the middle on his way towards deaking out Tuukka Rask and sealing off a 3-0 lead for Washington.
The Bruins however seemed to get the memo after that goal and started to work to pry that lead away from the Caps. Within minutes of the Ward goal, Dougie Hamilton took a pass from Reilly Smith and slid down through the face off circle. Drawing two defenders too his side, Hamilton selflessly slid a pass of his own towards a completely unchecked Patrice Bergeron. He ripped the one timer past Bradan Holtby igniting, the TD Guarden, his teammates and the never quit spirit that has made Boston such a great team year in and year out.
"They got a little bit of momentum and the crowd got them into it, their fourth line got them into it and then we got to see a little bit of Boston and the way they have played all season long. And it's a tough team to defend against," Capitals defender Carl Alsner said when asked about the goal.
The Bruins fought hard for the remainder of that period, mashing bodies and pounding the Capitals with that annoying kind of skate through the opponent hitting that many of the Bruins forwards excel it. Before the 2nd period drew to a close, a goal that purely exemplified the Bruin's forth line play had turned this into a 3-2 game. That goal was scored when Shawn Thornton grabbed the puck along the left side boards. With Gregory Campbell streaking towards the net, Thornton slammed the puck towards the hash marks. Though the name of the person who actually hit the puck at that part of the ice is still up for debate, Cambell basically threw his body in it's direction, bouncing the puck of of either his or the defending Capital's stick and into the net. As Campbell, Pallie and Thornton all pealed themselves out of the carnage that piled up as Campbell knocked over everyone in his path, there was a kind of exuberant joy in the Garden. All of a sudden, this was a game.
Before long however, it was all Capitals once again. Halfway through the 3rd period, Eric Fehur scored to put his team up 4-2 effectively sealing the game and sinking the ship on this game for Boston.
A loss is a loss but this being the first time the Bruins have lost back to back games in over a month, this one hurts a little more.
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