Bruins versus Capitals Recap; Smith stays hot; Swayman Shines

THE BREAKDOWN:

For the first time in 24 games the Boston Bruins won back to back contests as they beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 at Verizon Center on Thursday night.

The Bruins got another strong performance from rookie Jeremy Swayman as the netminder stopped 31 shots en route to his second straight win.

Jeremy Lauzon put the Bruins up 33 seconds in. Anton Blidh gave the Bruins a 2-0 first period lead. Brad Marchand added a shorthanded goal to start the second.

Washington cut the lead to 3-2 before Craig Smith gave Boston the final cushion with a power play goal late in the 3rd.

The Bruins will look to keep the good times rolling as they head to Philadelphia to play the Flyers on Saturday.

3 STARS:

Jeremy Lauzon: Not only did Lauzon score his first goal of the season, but he was a defensive force in this one. Lauzon finished a +2 for the game while blocking shots and playing a big role on the PK. Lauzon tallied 7 and a half minutes of shorthanded time on ice which led the team.

Jeremy Swayman: It may only have two games under his belt in the NHL, but Swayman looked really comfortable in this one. Swayman stopped 31 out of 33 Capitals shots and now has stopped 71 of the 75 shots that he has faced so far up in the NHL. Swayman’s aggressive style of goaltending made it hard for the Caps to get good shooting angles all night long.

Brad Marchand: The little ball of hate was at it again as he continues to add to his Hart trophy candidacy as he tallied his 30th career shorthanded goal in this one. Marchand also chipped in a assist as it was another multi point effort from the assistant captain.

 

TURNING POINT:

The Capitals despite being outplayed by the Bruins for the majority of the game found themselves only being down one goal with about 4 minutes left in the game. With the Capitals pushing for the tying goal late in the game, Capitals forward Daniel Carr hooked Sean Kuraly sending the Bruins to the power play.

The Bruins would capitalize on Carr’s foolish penalty as Craig Smith beat Samsonov under his armpit to give the Bruins the insurance goal they needed to salt the rest of the game away.

 

ICE TO SEE YOU:

IT’S MILLER TIME: Kevan Miller returned to the ice after missing the last 6 weeks of action with a knee injury. With Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo on the shelf with upper-body injuries the Bruins welcomed back Miller with open arms.

Miller played solid all night long logging a team high 25 minutes of ice time and playing as he always does: strong and stout.

Miller also tallied 5 hits and 5 blocked shots in the winning effort for the B’s playing crunch time minutes yet again for Bruce Cassidy.

 

STAT OF THE NIGHT:

We can’t talk about this game without recognizing greatness. Alex Ovechkin took sole possession of second place in all-time power play goals in NHL history. Doing so in typical Ovi fashion he potted his 266th career power play goal only trailing the legendary Dave Andreychuk who holds the record with 274 power play goals.

HOW TWEET IT IS:

This tweet from Boston Sports Journal’s own Greg Bedard who is reacting like most Bruins fans after this win tonight.

Well I can say with certainty if Swayman keeps playing like this #SwayVlad2022 has my vote.

THAT’S WHAT HE SAID:

The quote of the night goes to the shorthanded king himself: Brad Marchand who had high praise for the rookie net minder Jeremy Swayman.

“We heard he was a great goalie, he showed that in practice.”