The domination over the Bruins continues. It’s ten straight wins now after the Capitals defeated the B’s 3-2 on Saturday night. Somewhat of a strange game if you ask me, so let’s dive into the numbers.
Washington started the game very well. The first period ended 2-0 in favor of the good guys and almost everything was going their way. Then Boston dominated the second period but were still down two goals after the second period (3-1). The Bruins had plenty of chances to come back in the third, but never got much going.
The reason this game was bit strange is because it seemed whoever had momentum in the game, seemed to be the team that was getting scored against, especially for the last forty minutes of the game.
This chart, showing you the “flow” of the game shows you who was in control of the game, based on shot attempts, and when the goals were scored. The Capitals played well in the first period, getting two goals, then came out to start the second strong. Then Boston gets a goal when the Capitals are in control.
After that, the Bruins gained control and didn’t score a goal. Not only do they not score a goal, they allow a goal which proved to be a back breaker.
Boston would get a four-minute power play which the Caps got the better chances on, two breakaways to be exact. The Bruins would get a goal late and put some pressure on the Capitals but it was too little too late.
Shots/Shooting
The shot attempts while 5v5 ended 45-31, Boston.
A lot of yellow right next to the Capitals goal. For a lot of the game there wasn’t much red next to the Bruins goal, but the Caps ended up getting some good chances in close, during the back half of the game.
At one point in the game the Bruins were almost doubling the Capitals in expected goals, but Washington pulled a little closer later in the game.
The top three names on this chart are the only Capitals who were 50% or better on the night. As with most nights this season, there were a lot of Capitals on the wrong side of this number.
The Capitals top line of Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-DSP, who I thought created some good chances in the game, were unimpressive in the shot attempts department. DSP finished a -5.
Possibly the best Capital tonight was Tom Wilson at -1.
Faceoffs
A fairly average night on faceoffs for the Capitals vs the Bruins, winning 29 of 60 faceoffs, or 48%.
A big reason the Caps weren’t that great at the dot, their best guy on faceoffs, Jay Beagle had a rare bad night. Eller, Backstrom and Kuznetsov all had regular nights. Eller had a little higher than average night.
Other faceoff takers:
Chandler Stephenson: 1 for 1
O’Brien & Vrana: 0 for 1
T.J. Oshie: 0 for 2
Goaltending
Braden Holtby had a very solid night in net. He made several good saves, and in my eyes, was one of the best Capitals on the night. With that being said, he let in the second goal of the night when he probably shouldn’t have. A goal that was shot by Pastrnak below the goal line and beat Holtby on the near post. One mistake that didn’t end up hurting the Capitals.
Special Teams
The Capitals special teams were good, particularly their penalty kill. With Boston carrying the play in the second period, and getting a four minute power play early in the third, it looked like a sure thing Boston would get at least one goal and make the game interesting. As we said earlier, the best chances on that four minute power play went the Capitals way via breakaways.
The Bruins second goal ended up being a power play goal, but the PK for the Capitals I thought was excellent.
It might have been a weird game but a win is not weird at all. Two more points for the Washington Capitals and all is good.
By CJ Witt