The Boston Bruins are frustrated. That does not mean the Capitals are ready to run away with their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal. But putting the Bruins in such a salty mood is at least a positive step as the two teams move to the District on Monday night for Game 3 of a tied series. What’s the problem? Well, two goals against a rookie goalie in more than 140 minutes of hockey for starters. The issue, according to Boston coach Claude Julien, starts with his team’s forwards not getting in front of Washington goalie Braden Holtby. When the 22-year-old sees the pucks fired his way, he’s having little trouble snagging them. When there are rebounds into the slot, the Caps are doing a wonderful job of clearing those chances away. And when Boston’s defensemen get the puck out top, they have little time to get off an accurate shot.
“You’ve got to battle for your space. It’s not there, so you’ve got to find it. Doesn’t mean you’re going to have more of it, but you’ll probably be in a better position,” Julien said. “And the problem right now is that we’re not battling through those to get in the right position. So their goaltender is seeing a lot because their [defensemen] are pushing us to the outside, and we’re letting them do that to us. We’re not fighting to make his view of the shot tougher.”
Washington doesn’t exactly feature a group of bruising blueliners, either. Karl Alzner and John Carlson are having a fine series. Mike Green has held up in his own end for the most part. And veteran Roman Hamrlik looks revitalized late in the season. But the Bruins shouldn’t be getting pushed away from Holtby’s crease so easily. Boston has taken 148 shots total: That’s 74 on goal, 25 misses and 49 blocked — a whopping 33 percent.
“I know what it’s like to be on the other end of that last year when we played the Rangers in the first round,” Caps forward Matt Hendricks said. “They blocked a ton of shots, and when it’s hard to get them through, it does frustrate you a little bit.”
– Brian McNally
