Series Talk: #2 Capitals vs #3 Bruins

[GordonHowe]

I don’t think so at all. This team can beat them and they’ve shown they can. Especially even before the Taylor Hall/Lazar trade.

We'll see. I tend to emphasize physicality, especially in the playoffs. The Capitols are the more physical club.

They're going to beat the crap out of each other. In the first round. Oy.

 

[The National]

We'll see. I tend to emphasize physicality, especially in the playoffs. The Capitols are the more physical club.

They're going to beat the crap out of each other. In the first round. Oy.

If they come out of it relatively healthy it may benefit them, they will go into Round 2 battle tested. Starting the playoffs against softer teams like Leafs and Canes may have hurt us in the past.

 

[GordonHowe]

If they come out of it relatively healthy it may benefit them, they will go into Round 2 battle tested. Starting the playoffs against softer teams like Leafs and Canes may have hurt us in the past.

Perhaps. But you never want to face the worst matchup one can imagine. In the first round. Washington is their toughtest opponent.

They will both beat the hell out of each other. And that's no good in the first round of a three team tourney.

Yikes. See what happens.

 

[BruinsFanMike82]

Well, one thing's for sure. The ice for Wednesday's game at the Garden should be amazing. Forecast says high in the mid-80s.

 

[Aeroforce]

Took a break for a few days before things ratchet up, hopefully for 2 months.

I voted Bruins in 7. They should do it in 6, but I'm figuring either the B's poor game management at the end of periods or questionable officiating (commonplace in games against Washington) will make the series harder than it needs to be. They also need to stay out of the box.

 

[McGarnagle]

Really we should win in 5. We're better than them to begin with since the deadline and now half their lineup is playing through injury. Plus they don't have a goalie.

Really the biggest concern is Wilson running around and injuring our guys, but just from a hockey perspective the Bruins are a significantly better team than Washington 5 on 5.

 

[Camille the Eel]

Bruins goaltending is superior. And in the playoffs that’s a big edge. But Rask has to play at his top form.

 

[Camille the Eel]

Also Washington generates pretty much everything off the cycle. So the challenge is on the D to make crisp first passes and work around their forecheck. If you do that. You pretty much neuralize the Caps.

A big question will also be how the series is officiated. The Bruins must stay out of the penalty box. Special teams are going to be big.

 

[Ladyfan]

Well, one thing's for sure. The ice for Wednesday's game at the Garden should be amazing. Forecast says high in the mid-80s.

It's bad when it is 10 below outside

 

[BruinsFanMike82]

Series preview from Evolving Hockey:
*They predict the Bruins have a 61.4% chance of winning the series and most likely in 6 games.

As in years past, the Capitals were a team that succeeded on the margins this season. While their share of shot attempts and expected goals were middle-of-the-pack at even strength, the Capitals were second in the league in shooting percentage, enabling them to outscore their opponents at a formidable margin. The Caps have been led by a re-emergence of Nicklas Backstrom who’s GAR of 11.4 was his highest season total since 2014-15 (11.9 in 82 games). One of the knocks for Washington heading into Game 1 will be the (possible) absence of Evgeny Kuznetsov. The forward has been a key contributor to the team’s offensive success for a while now and will at least be coming from a long break even if he plays in Game 1. One interesting stat to keep in mind heading into the series is the Capital’s .848 save percentage while on the powerplay this season. The Bruins, Brad Marchand in particular, have a knack for scoring shorthanded goals.

WSH strengths: shooting, depth
WSH weaknesses: everything else is just all average

If this preview is good for anything, let’s establish a precedent that we should never refer to the grouping of Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Patrice Bergeron as the “perfection line” ever again. The Bruins have scored 2.24 more goals than their opponents with those three on the ice this season, but there is a new sheriff in town. Since Taylor Hall arrived in Boston after the trade deadline, he has been predominantly placed with David Krejci and Craig Smith to the right of him. With that trio on the ice, the Bruins have scored 4.03 more goals than their opponents…with a .983 save percentage. However, they were expected to outscore their opponents by a significant amount too. While the Bruins finish the season on the opposite side of the spectrum in terms of finishing at even strength this season, they are certainly hoping the Hall trade has alleviated that a bit.

BOS strengths: defense, goaltending
BOS weaknesses: shooting


Evolving-Hockey

 

[BruinsFanMike82]

 

[missingchicklet]

Looking at the team stats and advanced stats, the Bs should definitely win this series based on all of that. Problem is that physical play, playoff mentality, and ability of coaches to adjust are not reflected in regular season stats and charts. The Bs really need to ramp up the physical play next game. Interesting that it was a rookie that finally did something about Ovi skating around like a freight train wrecking Bruins players, and it was only after Ovi had continued with a pattern of being "physical" to multiple Bs. Where were the other guys? The Bs also need to fight harder for position in the middle. Surely the Bs knew going into this series what the Caps would be trying to do.

For all the crap Ovi gets for being lazy and one dimensional, he sure wasn't last night. He was a freight train all night long and had the Bs looking over their shoulder, and for good reason. Have to imagine that Wilson and Hathaway are going to be more physical as the series goes on. Neither guy was that noticeable in game 1 when it came to big hits or general nastiness. Wilson was content to be a skill player last night, and did quite well.

And while I get that the Bs only lost by a goal in OT on the road, they also were very very fortunate that the Caps didn't score a couple more goals on all those odd-man rushes the Bs gave up. I still believe the Bs are the better overall team and "should" win this series. That is contingent on the Bs taking advantage of the gap in the goalie situations of the two teams, ramping up the physical play, and the coach making better adjustments. Last night the Caps only scored 2 goals in regulation. Problem is that the Bs didn't score more than 2, and that was with a fossil in goal for the Caps, as well as the Bs having an advantage in number of PPs.