By: Jeff Playdon | Follow me on Twitter @PlaydonJeff
On a Super Bowl Sunday matinee game, the Boston Bruins skated into Washington D.C and looked to snap a two-game losing streak against the Capitals. Boston was coming off a 2-1 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins, while Washington was coming off a 3-0 win against Montreal. One of the key storylines heading into this game was that Nathan Horton would miss his fifth straight game due to a concussion. Tim Thomas would get the start in net, and on the other side of the ice, the Capitals went with Tomas Vokoun.
Lucic and the Boys Start Off Hot
The game was on, and Boston came out the gates looking to bounce back in the win column. Seconds after the period’s halfway mark, Milan Lucic put Boston on top 1-0. Lucic had great speed going past the blue line and blew by Dennis Wideman. Rich Peverley found Lucic and went upstairs on Tomas Vokoun. The action continued, and with 1:22 remaining in the first, Brad Marchand wanted to join Lucic in the scoring department and extended the Bruins lead to 2-0.
The play started with great forechecking by Patrice Bergeron, and Brad Marchand capitalized with a short-angle backhander past Vokoun. Eight seconds after Brad Marchand’s goal, a scuffle behind the Bruins net led Adam Mcquaid and Matt Hendricks to drop the gloves. McQuaid would land several quick punches, but Hendricks got the takedown. The last-minute of the period ticked off, and the Bruins carried a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
Bruins Lead After Two
After the Matt Hendricks vs. Adam McQuaid fight at the end of the first period, it looked like Washington had some momentum at the start of the second. The Capitals had better legs so far in the period, and Boston needed to match their intensity to hold on to this lead. At the 15:41 mark of the period, Zdeno Chara zinged a slapper off of Tomas Vokoun’s mask.
A scary situation resulting in a stoppage of play. Other than that, the period was quickly over, and Boston still led 2-0 after 40 minutes. It was the first time in eleven games that the Bruins took the lead heading into the third period.
Bruins Pull Away and Win 4-1
The last 20 minutes of regulation were underway, and Washington opened up the period by hitting the crossbar on a Mathieu Perreault wrister; Washington almost got on the scoreboard with that one. Five minutes later, Tyler Seguin decided to get on the point sheet and record his 20th goal of the season. Seguin got apiece of Brad Marchand’s pass and extended the Bruins lead to 3-0.
Six minutes after Seguin’s goal, Washington decided to pick up the pace and finally get on the scoreboard. Marcus Johansson’s cross-crease pass went off of Dennis Seidenberg’s skate and got by Tim Thomas, leading to a Capital goal. Just one minute later, Tim Thomas came up big with a huge save on Keith Aucoin’s short-range shot. If it weren’t for Thomas, the Bruins lead would only be 3-2. Nonetheless, seven seconds after Aucoin’s shot, Jason Chimera was called for goaltender interference, and Boston was on the powerplay for the first time today.
The Bruins couldn’t convert, though, and there were five minutes left of regulation. In an effort of desperation, while still trailing by two, Washington decided to pull Vokoun for the extra attacker; however, Rich Peverly buried the empty-netter and put a stamp on the Bruins 4-1 win against the Capitals. The three stars of the game were Alexander Ovechkin, Brad Marchand, and Tim Thomas. Boston would look to get their 34th win of the season on February 8th when they visited the Buffalo Sabres.
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