Caps 5, Bruins 3
One game down, two to go for Alex Ovechkin. Watching from a suite was probably the last thing the star left wing wanted to do on Tuesday night while his teammates played the Boston Bruins. Let’s just say Ovi doesn’t handle sitting out all that well.
But his teammates picked Ovechkin up after Mathieu Perreault scored a hat trick and Cody Eakin and Dennis Wideman both added tallies in a 5-3 win over the defending Stanley Cup champs. Read all the details in our game story here.
Anytime you play Boston you have to match their physical intensity. The Bruins have one big body after another to throw around the ice. If you aren’t ready for it you can get blitzed in a hurry. They’ve done so more than once this season to other opponents.
“It was part of the game plan is to get back. I think they try to intimidate teams. I think that’s what happened in the Cup final last year,” Washington defenseman Karl Alzner said. “They tried to go out there and intimidate. That works for them most of the time. You got to push back whenever you can because when they start to take liberties and just go a play it’s hard to keep up with them.”
Mission accomplished. The Caps threw the body well most of the night. They finished checks. They got on Boston defensemen quickly when there were loose pucks in the offensive zone. Still only managed 23 shots on goal, but at least this time they made them count.
“It’s huge. You look at Boston, Stanley Cup champs last year. One of the best teams in the league right now,” Washington forward Matt Hendricks said. “They’re going to be one of the best teams the rest of the season, that’s for sure. For us to win and have that momentum going into break feeling somewhat good about ourselves and now we can just focus in on the game at hand, which is keep winning hockey games.”
So that pushes the Caps back into first place in the Southeast Division – though they stand at 55 points along with the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils. So not much margin for error heading into the season’s final 34 games. Figure you need 95 points to make the Stanley Cup playoffs so about 20 wins would do the trick.
Follow me on Twitter @bmcnally14
