Bruins

Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images The Washington Capitals downed the Boston Bruins, 2-1 Saturday afternoon at TD Garden in Boston, Mass.

Connor Clifton (11) and Taylor Hall (18) had the helpers. Both of Backstrom’s goals have come on the power play and he has now scored two goals in his last three games. - The Caps have now had five 5-on-3 power plays this season, totaling 3:57 in duration. As a result of the penalty parade, the Capitals were ultimately awarded a 5-on-3 man advantage, and they would capitalize with a Nicklas Backstrom (2) power tally at 6:28. The Bruins answered late, otherwise the Capitals stood toe-to-toe with league’s best possession team. The Capitals lead in 5v5 shot attempts, 17-14, scoring chances, 12-4, high-danger chances, 6-2 and xGF .85 to .54. The Caps have now had five 5-on-3 power plays this season, totaling 3:57 in duration. [Jeremy Swayman](https://www.nhl.com/player/jeremy-swayman-8480280) (12-3-4, 2.34 GAA, .914 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Bruins. The first six minutes of the opening frame was penalty-riddled. The Capitals now have a record of 11-4-0 in their last 15 games at TD Garden. [Darcy Kuemper](https://novacapsfans.com/2023/02/09/under-control-darcy-kuemper-and-charlie-lindgren-are-among-leagues-best-at-limiting-rebound-shot-attempts/) (15-14-4, 2.62 GAA, .915 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting Capitals. [Washington Capitals](https://novacapsfans.com/) downed the Boston Bruins, 2-1 Saturday afternoon at TD Garden in Boston, Mass.

Extended rest periods have not been kind to the Boston Bruins in the past, so if Saturday's return to action against the Washington Capitals at TD Garden ...

So when trade deadline comes and goes, it'll be understandable if the Bruins' brass doesn't want to mess with this magic, on or off the ice. Thanks to this historic run, it has now become reasonable to think Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci can stay healthy for the ultimate pursuit. Should there be a slump, only Carolina is close enough to leapfrog Boston for top seed in the conference. There will be five more occasions this season in which the Bruins will play three games in four nights. For the vast majority of the league, there is still much to tax and spend in the way of core-player wear, tear and prayer over these final 30 or so games. The Bruins can get there on Saturday.

Nicklas Backstrom and Garnet Hathaway each scored a goal and the Washington Capitals beat NHL-best Boston 2-1 on Saturday, sending the Bruins to just their ...

“I didn’t think we had a bad game,” Marchand said. …. The Bruins wore their Winter Classic jerseys that they had on when they beat the Penguins in Fenway Park on Jan. “Coming off the break and not knowing what you’re going to get, I thought we played a smart period. “We talked about it before (the game). “I really liked the start,” Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. That’s probably the hardest building to win in this year.”

The Boston Bruins struggled to solve Washington Capitals goaltender Darcy Kuemper in their return from the bye week, falling 2-1 for just their second home ...

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Nicklas Backstrom and Garnet Hathaway scored a goal apiece to lead the Washington Capitals past the host Boston Bruins 2-1 Saturday in both teams' first ...

The Capitals got goals from Nicklas Backstrom and Garnet Hathaway to dump the Bruins, 2-1, in Boston.

Winger Garnet Hathaway extended the lead to 2-0 at 11:40 of the second after capitalizing on a turnover and sending a wrister past the shoulder of Swayman — with the puck nicking the crossbar on its way in — despite absorbing a crushing hit from Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton. You can see that in the urgency in our play,” Kuemper said. Kuemper used every tool at his disposal on his way to 27 saves, at times needing every inch of his 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame to keep the Bruins at bay, which included fully extending his stick to bat away a deflection by Patrice Bergeron with just over six minutes left in the first. After making a save in the first, Kuemper withstood a swat at his pad by the Bruins’ Brad Marchand after the whistle had blown. But later, Kuemper used his blocker to bat away a knuckling puck from Hall during four-on-four play early in the third. Marchand and Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin locked horns numerous times, including midway through the third period, when both were whistled for penalties after a tussle. The Bruins entered the afternoon second in goals and first in goals against, and they had the league’s best penalty kill and a top-five power play. (This win pushed the Capitals into the first wild-card spot, one point in front of Pittsburgh, which played late Saturday.) Washington caught a break by not facing Linus Ullmark — the Bruins’ top goalie, who leads the NHL in wins and save percentage — but instead 24-year-old backup Jeremy Swayman, who has been solid but not on Ullmark’s all-star level. Yet Washington provided a blueprint for how it plans to make a postseason push: with bone-rattling physicality, structurally sound defense and opportunistic scoring. Coach Peter Laviolette had talked to his team about controlling the decibel level, especially because the sellout crowd fully expected the home team to continue a historic start. “The start was important.” “It’s going to be tight at the end.

Nicklas Backstrom and Garnet Hathaway each scored a goal and the Washington Capitals beat NHL-best Boston 2-1 on Saturday, sending the Bruins to just their ...

“I didn’t think we had a bad game,” Marchand said. …. The Bruins wore their Winter Classic jerseys that they had on when they beat the Penguins in Fenway Park on Jan. “Coming off the break and not knowing what you’re going to get, I thought we played a smart period. “We talked about it before (the game). “I really liked the start,” Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. That’s probably the hardest building to win in this year.”

Washington Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper stood tall down the stretch and the Capitals beat a sluggish Boston Bruins squad 2-1.

[Brad Marchand](https://bostonhockeynow.com/2023/02/11/hagg-bag-boston-bruins-coming-out-of-the-break/) at 5:20 of the opening frame was absolutely ludicrous. As if that wasn’t bad enough for the Bruins, Charlie Coyle was whistled off for hooking four seconds later, and then 24 seconds later, Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm was sent to the box for interference. Marchand was digging at Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper for a loose puck, and was cross-checked in the head from behind by Capitals center Evgeni Kuznetsov. While all three were questionable, the two-minute slashing call on Bruins winger BLACK EYE: As expected the Boston Bruins were rusty and out of sync in their first game back from the break and their first since a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. he stopped Bruins winger Taylor Hall early in the final frame and then did the same to Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron on a Bruins’ powerplay mid-way through the period.

Nicklas Backstrom and Garnet Hathaway each scored a goal and the Washington Capitals beat NHL-best Boston 2-1 on Saturday, sending the Bruins to just their ...

Here's what we learned from Boston's 2-1 setback on Saturday afternoon against Washington. See Boston.com.

And one can argue the Bruins benefitted from some of the questionable officiating decisions during their 82-game slate. And while Marchand wouldn’t ever stoop to laying the blame solely on any officiating crew, he couldn’t help but acknowledge the latest frustrating round of calls. “They called a really suspect call on Coyle early in the game. And an irked Marchand shared a rather unique term as he shared his thoughts on the officiating. The Bruins then had their power play negated four seconds later following a hooking call on Charlie Coyle. During that sequence, the veteran winger and 2006 third-round selection felt the brunt of an Evgeny Kuznetsov cross-check. And that’s the thing that concerns me about this game and a little bit of what we saw before the All-Star break.” With such a significant target following an otherworldly run, Patrice Bergeron and the battle-hardened Bruins expect difficulties. They’ll likely continue fighting for their playoff lives through the rest of the 2022-23 season. “You usually don’t score those highlight-reel goals come playoff time, and you don’t want to pass up the opportunity.” Yet, they developed a habit of passing up quality scoring chances, instead opting to make the perfect play. The Bruins have provided their fair share of highlight-reel markers throughout their torrid run through early February.