Bruins triumph in shootout, 4-3
The NHL regular season finally can be put to rest. All the wins and the records and the accolades are history now. The Stanley Cup playoffs are all that matters to the Capitals.
It didn’t exactly end on a high note after Washington blew a one-goal lead late in the third period and eventually lost in a shootout 4-3 to the Boston Bruins on Sunday afternoon at Verizon Center. But the Caps already were guaranteed the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Boston had to fight almost to the end but had been slotted for the No. 6 seed entering the day. Pride and a few individual milestones were about the only things on the line.
Caps forward Alexander Semin reached the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career. Eric Belanger and Mike Knuble added goals for Washington, which took a 3-2 lead at the 9:59 mark of the third period.
But a Marco Sturm one-timer beat Caps goalie Semyon Varlamov at 15:42 of the third period, and the Bruins scored on two of their three shootout attempts, including the winner by forward David Krejci.
“We’re really glad that it’s over,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said about the regular season. “We’ve known for a long time that we were going to be in the playoffs. As much as you want to push them, they are looking forward to a different kind of challenge.”
The Caps left Verizon Center with a final record of 54-15-13 (121 points). The players planned to have dinner and catch part of the Flyers-Rangers game Sunday afternoon that determined Washington would face Montreal in the first round. When the Caps take on the Canadiens, they will be an overwhelming favorite — maybe for the first time in franchise history.
“There’s been expectations all season,” said Caps defenseman Mike Green, who fell just short of a 20-goal season after a scoreless day against Boston. “We’ve done a fairly good job of trying to achieve them. The bar’s set so high for us now that we have to make sure that we stay intact and reach our goals. Since training camp that’s been a Stanley Cup. The real season starts now.”
