The Boston Bruins clinched an eighth consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs while sitting idle on Thursday.
When the Bruins (42-17-15, 99 points) return to the ice for a Saturday road bout against the Washington Capitals, it will be all about getting back to business and continuing to build toward their top game.
The results were split during the Florida portion of an ongoing six-game road trip. Boston, which has lost three of four, beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 on Tuesday but lost 3-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.
“(Tuesday) night, there was a lot of emotion in that game. There was a lot of physical — the physical product also contributes,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “You win a big game like that, we’re sky high, and then we gotta come back and we gotta play an elite team in the league again. It’s a hard schedule.”
The Bruins have been off since, but the challenge remains against the Capitals (36-27-9, 81 points), who hold the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Boston’s power play has been one recent Achilles’ heel, clicking at just 1-for-11 over its last four games. Trent Frederic scored the only goal during that stretch, tying the score against Florida.
“It’s hard when your (power play) doesn’t go your way, so you start to lose confidence pretty quickly,” Bruins forward and leading scorer David Pastrnak said. “We’ve got eight games left and we need to make sure we get the (power play) back to where it used to be. We are a good power-play unit, so time is running out and we have to be better.”
Danton Heinen scored the Bruins’ lone goal against Tampa Bay.
Washington, meanwhile, had a three-game win streak snapped in a 5-1 road loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. The Capitals were outshot 48-24 and got a lone goal from Nic Dowd.
With playoff time approaching, Washington coach Spencer Carbery was a bit concerned after his team’s loss against a high-octane offensive team — similar to the Bruins.
“From the start of the game, you could feel that our group was overwhelmed early on, just with the speed, the way things were happening,” Carbery said. “You could see a bunch of puck touches where we bobble it. We were fighting it early, and it was just too quick for us.”
Despite being positioned for the final playoff spot in the East, the Capitals have a minus-30 goal differential this season and will need to stick to their identity to have an extended stay come late April and beyond.
“We’re not a team that can play without guys getting the puck and moving their feet,” Washington forward T.J. Oshie said. “We’re not a team that can have success if we’re not keeping things simple and moving the puck quickly. And we’re certainly not a team that can turn pucks over in the neutral zone.”
Washington won 3-0 on the road against Boston on Feb. 10 in the only prior meeting between the teams this season. The win ended the Capitals’ six-game skid at the time. Charlie Lindgren needed to make only 18 saves.
–Field Level Media