injuries had nothing to do with the point that I was making.
Funny how you use injuries to excuse every Caps flaw in the post-season, but don’t take them into account for other teams…
Moreover, you’re missing the actual point here. The point is that Boston didn’t protect its goaltender or that protecting the crease isn’t important. It’s that you’re simple “size = good at crease protection” mindset doesn’t match reality. Boston has a much smaller defense than the Capitals, especially with Chara in red as opposed to yellow. Carlo is a big rig, but they’re also running the 5’9” Grezlcyk for 20+/night. Their #1 D, McAvoy, played nearly 27min/night in the playoffs and gives up 4” compared to Carlson. Boston is average sized on their blue line, at best, while the Caps have one of the biggest D groups in the league (with or without Chara).
Despite all that size advantage for Washington, which team did a better job protecting their crease? The answer is easily Boston.