Washington Capitals vs. Boston Bruins Game II Preview
The Washington Capitals have been beaten once by the Boston Bruins and now they are looking to settle the score. “I'm not sure revenge is the right word, but anybody who is competitive wants to get a chance at them right
away, so I guess we do," Capitals coach Brue Boudreau said. The Capitals were on a four game winning streak when they met with the Bruins.
The Boston team has been travelling all over but their next three games are scheduled in their home. “It's going to be good to be home,” Boston coach Claude Julien said. "We've had our fair share of road games.”
In the first game, Washington was all about offence. They took 10, 8 and 18 shots on goal in the three periods but only once were they able to beat the goaltender. Boston, on the other hand, was successful three times in
just 21 shots on goal. The Capitals were not disappointed with the effort and coach Boudreau thinks the next game would truly show which side is better. “We're not terrible,” Boudreau said. “We had a tough game. I thought we outplayed them pretty good for
the most part. They were opportunistic, and we get a chance to play them again Thursday.” Most of the games statistics agree with Boudreau except one crucial statistic: the number of goals.
Boston scored twice in the first period. Marcus Johnson scored Washington’s only goal of the night in the second period during which the Boston offence was unable to produce. In the first minutes of the final period Boston
scored a third time to cement their victory. Two-time league MVP, Alex Ovechkin also put the puck in the net but that goal was waived by the officials because Ovechkin had used his hand. This was the first time in the current season that the league leader
in points did not have a goal or an assist.
Washington has been greatly helped in its efforts so far by their penalty killing abilities. The Capitals are a strong offensive team and led the league last season in terms of goals scored. They averaged 4 goals but this
year they have been able to top the 3 goal mark just once. The scoring deficiency is being countered by the penalty kill. Until now washing has killed off every single penalty.
“(The penalty killing has) come at a good time,” defenseman Tom Poti said. “We're struggling to score a little bit. The biggest thing I've noticed is we're taking away the other team's points on the penalty kill.” The penalty
kill this year is entirely different from last year and the changes have worked for the Capitals. Their forwards are being more aggressive and making sure they can’t take shots on net. “We're trying to put pressure down ice to not let them come in so easily
like we did last year,” Poti said. Not only has their new strategy prevented goals, they have actually managed to score goals of their own while shorthanded.
Boston, of course, is also quite good when it comes to the penalty kill. They have conceded just one goal in 11 attempts so far this season. Their power play, though, could stand to see much more improvement. “That is really,
right now, the only real area that we feel we got to get better at,” Julien said regarding the power play. Julien said that they would continue to keep working on the special teams and make improvements. “Moving the puck a lot quicker will certainly help and
the only way we can get better at it is get(ting) back and work(ing) at it during practice.”
Winning the first game on the road gives the Bruins the psychological advantage for the coming contest. Washington, on the other hand, is trying to payback for a home game defeat with a home game defeat. This one can go either
way.
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