Series Talk: #2 Capitals vs #3 Bruins

[Budddy]

Games will be every 2 days i assume, maybe some back to backs?

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

Games will be every 2 days i assume, maybe some back to backs?

I hope not. Back to backs are scary . Things can come crashing down pretty quickly with back to backs and please only the occasional afternoon game.

 

[Tbaybruin]

You have to play Frederic this series. He has the speed to keep up with guys like Wilson and can use his agitating/tougher play. If he plays he will score in a 4-2 win an Sat.

 

[The National]

Also Schultz and Carlson have been rumored to have lingering injuries as well. Have missed some time recently.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Should be a great, if slightly daunting series. Feels like a playoff clash between these 2 teams has been brewing for quite awhile and the timing for it is just right once you add in the Chara factor and the extended niggle between the two during the regular season. I was just weighing up the pros and cons for the Bruins and thought of the following:

Pros

• Top 6 forwards. Bruins have a great top 6 now that is strong at both ends, packs a consistent scoring threat, and is a match for just about anybody’s in the league. There is one concern that I’ll list below.

• We can outskate and outwork the Caps as long as the Bruins bring their A game and put the effort in. Any time the Bruins can move the puck quickly and find some open ice they’ll be a threat.

• Team defense. Boston has a sound defensive structure that relies on both the forwards and defenders all being responsible and competent in their own end. There are occasional lapses, but pretty much all our forwards can play sound defense and there’s little coasting.

• Health. We have Coyle coming back from an injury which is probably a little bit of a question mark, especially as he was only just getting going when he got hurt, but otherwise all the players look in pretty good shape. We know Miller will always be a concern, and at this stage of the year a lot of guys will be carrying little niggles, but AFAIK there are no other major injuries, ex. Kase.

• PK. Up there with the best in the league. Very reliable, which is a big plus with Washington packing one of the best PPs going around.

Concerns

• Defenders. The Bruins’ D pairs have chopped and changed a lot, and still don’t feel really settled. The depth is not an issue – there are probably around 10 guys who all have seen solid game time this year and all can play at the NHL level as long as too much isn’t asked of them. But quality is the question mark, particularly the ability of this group to push back against the heavy Caps forwards and not get bullied and trapped for long periods in their own end. Can they hold up over the course of a series, particularly if it goes to 6-7 games?

• Bottom 6 forwards. For a long time the Bruins bottom 6 was pretty stacked, and the problems were in the top 6. Not without irony, that’s now switched, and while we still definitely have the talent to put together capable 3rd and 4th lines, we haven’t really found settled combos that consistently work. Coyle, DeBrusk, Kuraly, Wags and Frederic have all had their struggles this season at various points. In a team that still has problems putting pucks past goalies with any regularity, can we get enough out of our bottom 6 to add sufficient scoring depth, and are they going to be able to hold up defensively?

• Power play. Bruins have been struggling with their PP for weeks now, especially the first unit. The Caps should have no fear of it at the moment, and will have extra incentive to push the boundaries in their play, and it’s not like they really need any more of that. It’s up to Boston to show them otherwise.

• Pastrnak. For whatever reasons, the team’s best winger has been below his best pretty much all season. Don’t want to oversell that ‘cause he’s still being going at a PPG pace, but it’s safe to say he hasn’t been his usual dynamic self. He’s been ok without being exceptional. Can the Bruins beat Washington with an average Pasta performance? Probably. But if he can find some better form that’d be a huge help.

Middle of the road:

• The Bruins have the best goaltending in the division, although the Islanders in particular aren’t too far behind. However Rask has had an interrupted season and his recent form has been decent but not exceptional. Hopefully he can step it up for the serious stuff but that’s not a given. Swayman has been outstanding but he’s still extremely raw. I don’t think we’d want to have to rely on him too much at this stage. Halak looks done. I still think the Bruins have a clear advantage over the Caps in net, but there are a couple of question marks there.

• Physicality. I think the 2021 Bruins are tougher and better able to take care of themselves than the rosters from the last couple of years. That’s really important for this series, with the likes of Ritchie and Miller in the mix, and perhaps Tinordi at some stage too. However there’s no question Washington are still the heavier team and will be looking to punish the Bruins physically, win puck battles with their strength, and hurt our guys where possible. That remains a worry for us.

All told I think the Bruins can beat the Caps if they play near their best and get the game on their terms more often than not. I rate them as slight favorites. But it will be damn hard work. Looking forward to it!

 

[Lobster57]

You have to play Frederic this series. He has the speed to keep up with guys like Wilson and can use his agitating/tougher play. If he plays he will score in a 4-2 win an Sat.

when was the last time Frederic played an impactful game?

 

[The National]

when was the last time Frederic played an impactful game?

When Carlo was hurt I think?

 

[HecticGlow]

Caps fan coming in peace.

Playing Boston is scary in the sense that your forward lines are pretty stacked, and have a good mix of speed and physicality. I’m not sure either team has played too consistently this season, and both have had adversity to fight through. Should be a good matchup, honestly.

I think many of us Caps fans are relieved to be playing you guys - not because it’ll be easier or more likely that we’ll advance to round 2, but because at least it’ll be entertaining hockey. Can you imagine another four-to-seven games of Isles hockey in your life? That’s what we just narrowly avoided. Plus Chara v the Bruins is an unexpected storyline of the year.

If I want to follow a good Bruins beat reporter(s), who would you recommend? For the Caps Sam Pell (@samanthajpell) is a must, and Tarik El-Bashir and Tom Gulliti are decent too.

Here’s to a good, competitive and healthy series

Caps have a well built team. But that franchise has the most poorly designed logo in professional sports and I can’t deal with the horn guy.

The Washington/Eagle design is neat, the colour scheme is strong, and overall we have some good marketing. But God the actual logo is uninspired. One of the worst in the league, in my opinion. Our regular jerseys are pretty uninspired, too - all of our third/retro/stadium jerseys have been a massive improvement.

 

[Ivo]

Bruins in 6 seems to be the consensus so far. I am also optimistic, this looks like the best Bruins team in a long time, with two fantastic scoring lines (the lack of which has killed them every single year since they started making the playoffs again). Equally important, the Bruins are healthy at the right time (if you don’t count Kase), hopefully that remains the case after the series. We have a big advantage in net, which could be the deciding factor.

 

[BruinsPortugal]

I'd rather not play those dirtbags but here we are so lets make this quick. Bruins in 5.

 

[JCRO]

PLAYOFF.

HOCKEY.

BABY.

LETS GO.

 

[bbfan419]

Take care of the craps right away 4 maybe 5 at the most and get them gone, let the Pens and Isles beat up on each other. I hope all divisions start the playoffs at the same time, the North has 3 games between the Flames and Canucks, but who cares they are both eliminated, the other 4 teams can start the playoffs.

 

[Arzak]

Bruins Top 6

I really love the first two lines!

Playoff Krejci baby! With Hall that looks as good as ever. Oh, and they play behind the best line in hockey.
Feels nice that we don't have the same discussion "Drop Pasta to 2nd line to spread the wealth?". I mean it's a valid question that we don't need to ask for the first time in like forever.


Not worried about Pasta. Somewhere back in his mind had to be that he cant repeat Rocket Trophy due to injury. Comes playoff and fresh slate, I expect one-timers flying right way again.

 

[RHR37]

How motivated will Chara be in this series. We may see an animal.

 

[veganbruin]

Caps fan coming in peace.

Playing Boston is scary in the sense that your forward lines are pretty stacked, and have a good mix of speed and physicality. I’m not sure either team has played too consistently this season, and both have had adversity to fight through. Should be a good matchup, honestly.

I think many of us Caps fans are relieved to be playing you guys - not because it’ll be easier or more likely that we’ll advance to round 2, but because at least it’ll be entertaining hockey. Can you imagine another four-to-seven games of Isles hockey in your life? That’s what we just narrowly avoided. Plus Chara v the Bruins is an unexpected storyline of the year.

If I want to follow a good Bruins beat reporter(s), who would you recommend? For the Caps Sam Pell (@samanthajpell) is a must, and Tarik El-Bashir and Tom Gulliti are decent too.

Here’s to a good, competitive and healthy series



The Washington/Eagle design is neat, the colour scheme is strong, and overall we have some good marketing. But God the actual logo is uninspired. One of the worst in the league, in my opinion. Our regular jerseys are pretty uninspired, too - all of our third/retro/stadium jerseys have been a massive improvement.

I agree. Eagle logo is sick, color scheme is sick, reverse retro are sick. Name spelled out with sticks and pucks, not sick.

 

[BAD BOY]

How motivated will Chara be in this series. We may see an animal.

The bruins are motivated because of what happened with Carlo

 

[inactive user]

Look what I stumbled upon from the Caps board...

"Can't believe I'm the guy to post some positive shit in this mess of a thread. Nothing's scary about the Bruins at all. Hall is good, everyone with three digit IQ knew he's good, first line is good, Krejci is good, the rest of the team is meh. The goalie is a choker. Calm your tits. They need healthy Schultz and healthy Backstrom though. I don't know their current status but it's crucial to have them playing up to their abilities from game 1 and on. Just move your feet, goon it up a bit if needed, put pucks on net and don't leave too much space in the neutral zone. Positional defense is not the Caps' strength, if they manage to avoid getting pinned down in their zone for prolonged shifts, they got this series."​

 

[TSBruins13]

The only thing that worries me about a Caps series is the physicality right off the start. I’m not worried about beating them on the scoreboard. If we can come out relatively unscathed I think we take it in 6.

My three predictions:

Ritchie becomes a fan favorite this series - scores some big goals and asserts himself physically

Swayman makes it hard for us to roll with Rask

Hall leads the Bruins in points

 

[13Hockey]

What has JDB done to deserve being on the 3rd line?

He has played very good the last 2-3 games getting a ton of chances using his speed again getting to the dirty areas

if not JD on line 3 the other options are Kuraly, Wagner, or Kuhlman

I’ll take the kid with a great playoff resume and is a 20 goal scorer over those 3

 

[ON3M4N]

Bruins have been pretty solid vs the Capitals this year:

W​	L​	OTL​	CF%​	SF%​	GF%​	xGF%​	SCF%​	HDCF%​	PDO​
4​	1​	2​	54.7​	55.4​	58.6​	50.7​	53.1​	48.3​	1.012​

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Don't forget that in these numbers are the game where we iced an AHL defense on the 2nd night of a back to back. Both teams are playing well over their last 10 games, so I expect this to be a solid 6/7 game series.

Team​	W​	L​	OTL​	CF%​	SF%​	GF%​	xGF%​	SCF%​	HDCF%​
Boston Bruins​	6​	3​	1​	60.5​	61.9​	61.9​	63.8​	59.4​	63.5​
Washington Capitals​	6​	3​	1​	55.9​	55.6​	50.0​	59.1​	58.4​	65.2​

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[devilbruin]

Sidebar, I’m a little sad we won’t be able to eliminate the Leafs in the first round this year.

 

[Ladyfan]

I voted Bs in 6 but I have no idea.

Thanks to @GahdenRinkRat we have tickets to all home games for series one and two. Our best seats are for game 3 in series one so I would like that to be the game the Bs win it all...But I will be there for game 4 too so a Bs sweep is OK too

 

[Healthy Wrap]

You have to play Frederic this series. He has the speed to keep up with guys like Wilson and can use his agitating/tougher play. If he plays he will score in a 4-2 win an Sat.

If he does, I haven’t seen it. In fact, I’d say skating is his biggest weakness

 

[BruinDust]

Sidebar, I’m a little sad we won’t be able to eliminate the Leafs in the first round this year.

We'll just have to break their hearts in Rounds 3 or 4.

 

[BruinDust]

I got Bruins in 5. The Caps aren't close to 100% up-front. Their goaltending is questionable and they aren't Trotz's Caps anymore with freakin' Holtby playing goal in a rocking chair against the B's. I think they have issues in the room, you get the feeling that the current Caps team is a fractured bunch.

Meanwhile this Bruins team is headed in opposite directions.

Once again, the X-factor in all of this is Tom Wilson. Does his little side-show become the main storyline for this series?

I think the Bruins handle the Caps on the scoreboard, but how much will a series (even a 5-gamer) with the Caps take out of them in the long-run? I think they need at least one shorter series out of the 2 series wins required to advance to the final 4. If the Bruins play say 13 or 14 games out of a possible 14 to advance, will they have anything left by Round 3, especially if those 6-7 gamers are against he Caps and Islanders respectively.