Ilya Samsonov was a surprise starter in net for the visiting Capitals. Evgeny Kuznetsov also returned to the lineup, while Lars Eller (lower body) and Daniel Sprong (healthy) were the scratches for Game 3.
There was no scoring in the first period. There were a total of six penalties called in the opening stanza.
LIVE STATS
SCORING
Garnet Hathaway had the hit of the first period.
BIG HIT sends McAvoy over the boards with Tom Wilson right in his ear #NHLBRuins #ALLCAPS #StanleyCup #NHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/8pYWo1lzKj
— 2 Goalies 1 Mic (@2Goalies1Mic) May 19, 2021
T.J. Oshie had the save of the first period.
🚫SH pic.twitter.com/3F3CuHZQM6
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 19, 2021
GENERAL STATS
(Stats from NHL.com) – Faceoffs were 50-50, which is a good sign for the Capitals.
SHOTS
(Stats from Natural Stat Trick) The Bruins led 8-2 in 5v5 shot attempts and 2-1 in scoring chances for.
Heatmap (shot attempts) at 5v5.
EXPECTED GOALS
(Stats from MoneyPuck.com) – The Bruins led in expected goals for .89 to .17 for the first period.
SHOT METRICS FROM PREVIOUS TWO BRUINS GAMES
The following graph plots the shot attempt percentages (CF% – Blue), high-danger shot attempts (HDCF% – Orange), scoring chances for percentages (SCF% – Red) and expected goals for percentages (xGF% – Cyan) for each of the Capitals skaters for the first two games of the series.
SHOT METRICS FROM PREVIOUS 10 BRUINS GAMES
The following graph plots the shot attempt percentages (CF% – Blue), high-danger shot attempts (HDCF% – Orange), scoring chances for percentages (SCF% – Red) and expected goals for percentages (xGF% – Cyan) for the Capitals for each of the eight regular season games and the first two games of this series. (Click to enlarge).
By Jon Sorensen
Follow @nova_caps
