McQuaid would leave the ice in the first and not come back (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)
Tonight the Bruins took on the Washington Capitals at 7pm, coming out strong and presenting goaltender Tomas Vokoun with chance after chance which he easily shut down, until 1:35 remaining in the first period when he went down and re-injured his groin putting Michal Neuvirth in net. Along with Vokoun getting injured, Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid also left the first period. McQuaid was getting the puck behind the net when he pivoted, opening himself up to a vulnerable position as Chimera bee-lined and slammed him into the boards. It would later be reported that McQuaid would not return, nor would Chimera(game misconduct). This makes two defenseman the Bruins are without currently as Dennis Seidenberg sits out with a leg infection after a skate sliced through his leg in L.A.
Going into the second period the Bruins held the edge in shots and kept up great speed. Seguin offering some promising chances, along with Brian Rolston and Greg Zanon. There was a lot of back and forth action in the second period and the defensive pairings were the most dominant. The biggest play of the second would come from captain Zdeno Chara as he read the play from Ovechkin getting past partner Andrew Ference and would use his body and stick to take the puck away and create a great offensive opportunity. Through two the Bruins still held the edge in shots, but the score remained at zero.
“Getting shots through to the net, they’re doing good job getting between us and net… You have to talk all the time now it’s more important because you don’t know who you’re going to be playing with and just hearing their voice gives you a little extra confidence.”-Johnny Boychuk on how the Bruins need to play in the third period (via Intermission Report with Naoko Funayama)
The Bruins came out strong in the third, but despite numerous efforts, Marchand fumbles the puck behind the Caps net, leaving Wideman to take a pass from Johansen and rip a shot high blocker side against Thomas for a 1-0 lead at 12:01. Shortly after Ovechkin and Johnasen get a two-on-one breakaway, their patience paying off and Ovechkin saucers it over to Johansen for a one-timer that beats Thomas for a two-goal lead at 9:54. It wouldn’t be until 16:50 that Zdeno Chara would use the screen and pull the Bruins within one of the Caps, shooting from the point with Krejci getting the tip in past the Caps net minder. With just “a buck sixteen to go” Andrew Ference blasts it off a pass and puts it behind Neuvirth scoring two goals in just one minute and fifty-four seconds, beating the Capitals goal span by one second. With the final seconds ticking away the Bruins applied good pressure, but were unable to pull ahead sending the game into sudden death overtime.
Marchand decked Wideman to begin the overtime and set the pace for the extra five minutes of play. While Seguin, Lucic and Marchand each had notable efforts against Neuvirth, the best came from Krejci and Johnny Boychuk as he dove for a shot, but they weren’t enough to put the Bruins on top in the final five, forcing a shoot-out. First up for the Caps/Bruins was David Krejci who went forehand and Neuvirth made the quick save. Matt Hendricks would go next, deking the puck with Thomas going down after a pump fake and scores. Seguin went in after with speed toward Neuvirth and scored as he threw the brakes on just enough to mess up Neuvirth. For the Caps it was Ovechkin circling against Thomas who got a piece of it making it 1-1 through two rounds. The third shooter for Boston was Patrice Bergeron who with speed towards Neuvirth, slid it under and scored with the forehand, again with a pump fake. The closer for the Caps was Alexandre Semin, needing to score to keep it going and he does with speed and a quick backhander forcing the fourth round. Peverley goes fourth and pulls up on the forehand resulting in a leg save for Neuvirth. Brooks Laich goes back and forth with a roofing backhander that beats Thomas and wins the game in a shoot-out for the Capitals.
The next game is Saturday, March31 against the New York Islanders at 1:00pm EST.
P.S. Congratulations to Nathan Horton and his wife on the birth of their son today!
A Cup A Bruin 