Final, Bruins 3-0: That’s it, and that’s all. The Bruins were able to cruise to an easy 3-0 win, as they took full advantage of a Washington team that wasn’t good on its second game in as many nights.
Third period, 18:26, Bruins 3-0: This game was already over, but now it’s really over.
Brad Marchand just intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and beat the Washington defensemen back and scored an empty-net goal.
Third period, 17:01, Bruins 2-0: David Krejci was just robbed. Krejci made a bid for a goal in close, but Braden Holtby made a sprawling glove save.
Third period, 15:00, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins almost added a third goal, this one from the third line. The B’s had a scramble in front, but they couldn’t bury one as Chris Kelly shoveled it through the crease.
Third period, 10:00, Bruins 2-0: Alex Ovechkin has come alive some here in the third period. He just sprinted the puck in down the right wing and slammed on the breaks. He then put a backhand on net, but Tuukka Rask was able to make a pad save.
Third period, 4:00, Bruins 2-0: The Capitals had arguably their best chance of the night early in the third period, but they couldn’t convert. Alex Ovechkin darted through the defense when he had the puck broken up. The puck deflected toward the net as Ovechkin tried to push it in as he went skating by, but he just missed and the puck hit the side of the net.
The Caps certainly have more jump in the opening minuets of the third than had in the first two periods, but that’s not saying much.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 2-0: The third period is underway.
End second period, Bruins 2-0: Boston had one more legitimate scoring chance in the final few minutes of the period, but Braden Holtby made another big save. Patrice Bergeron was the one who was stoned point-blank this time around.
The second period has come to an end with the Bruins holding the 2-0 lead and a commanding 27-8 advantage in shots on goal.
Second period, 15:32, Bruins 2-0: The Capitals just had a shot on goal. This isn’t usually a newsworthy development, but that shot from Eric Fehr marked the Caps’ first in what was a stretch of 12 minutes and 20 seconds.
Boston is now outshooting the Capitals 24-7 for the game and 14-3 in the second period.
Second period, 10:45, Bruins 2-0: Brad Marchand has had two great chances tonight, and he hasn’t been able to score on either.
He just got a pass as he was coming off the bench and walked in with a lot of room on the left wing. He put a shot on net, but Braden Holtby was able to get a glove on it.
Second period, 8:20, Bruins 2-0: That was easy.
Carl Soderberg controlled a rebound in front, and he wrapped around the net with Connor Carrick trailing him. That separation allowed him to get around the cage and then find Loui Eriksson right in front. Eriksson quickly put the shot on goal and was able to beat Braden Holtby high for the Bruins’ second goal of the game.
Second period, 6:56, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins came this close to adding a second. Reilly Smith did a good job of keeping the puck in the offensive zone, and he quickly wheeled and passed it to Brad Marchand.
Marchand had the slot free to himself and put a wrist shot on net, but Braden Holtby made the pad save as the puck deflected over the glass.
Second period, 3:05, Bruins 1-0: Gregory Campbell is on some sort of a roll right now.
The Bruins’ fourth-line center just scored his fourth goal in four games. With the Bruins set to go on the power play, they were able to put an extra skater on. That paid off when Campbell tipped in Patrice Bergeron’s shot from the left wing.
Second period, 0:01, 0-0: The second period is underway.
End first period, 0-0: The first period is over, which is kind of a good thing the way that first 20 minutes went. Not a whole lot happened. At all.
The Bruins outshot the Capitals 10-4.
First period, 14:36, 0-0: If you’re rushing home to watch the game, take it easy — you’re not missing much.
These two teams haven’t shown a ton so far, but the Bruins are outshooting the Capitals 6-3 so far. However, the B’s haven’t had any real good chances, at least not since Zdeno Chara’s bid earlier in the first period. The Capitals are keeping the Bruins from the slot, which is leaving the B’s a lot of shots from the wings that Braden Holtby is just gobbling up.
The most recent example of that was a Patrice Bergeron from the right circle that hit Holtby right in the chest.
First period, 8:30, 0-0: Loui Eriksson looks pretty good in his first game back from a one-game absence.
He just got a chance in front of the Washington net after a real nice play from Carl Soderberg who knifed into the defensive zone and hit Eriksson with a pass.
The Bruins currently hold the 4-3 advantage in shots on goal.
First period, 4:59, 0-0: The Bruins’ second line looks good so far, and they just turned in the best shift of the game.
The best chance came when Brad Marchand got the puck at the point and walked into the slot where he shoveled a backhanded pass to Zdeno Chara who had come down the left wing. Chara’s shot was stopped by Braden Holtby, though.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The Bruins and the Capitals are underway.
6:50 p.m.: Here are the lineups and projected defensive pairings for both clubs this evening.
Bruins
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Chris Kelly — Carl Soderberg — Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Johnny Boychuk — Matt Bartkowski
Torey Krug — Kevan Miller
Capitals
Chris Brown — Nicklas Backstrom — Alex Ovechkin
Dustin Penner — Marcus Johansson — Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera — Eric Fehr — Joel Ward
Ryan Stoa — Jay Beagle — Tom Wilson
Karl Alzner — John Carlson
Jack Hillen — Mike Green
Cam Schilling — Connor Carrick
6:29 p.m.: Good evening and welcome into TD Garden where the Bruins and Capitals just took the ice for pregame warmups about a half hour before puck drop.
Tuukka Rask led the Bruins out and he’ll be in the Boston net, while Braden Holtby will be between the pipes for Washington.
4:30 p.m.: The Capitals made a move to add goalie Jaroslav Halak before the trade deadline, but Washington fans will have to wait at least another game before seeing the new goalie.
Head coach Adam Oates said earlier that Braden Holtby will be making the start tonight against the Bruins. Holtby was pulled last night in Philadelphia in the Capitals’ 6-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. That was far from Holtby’s fault, though, as he was getting peppered leading up to his exit.
On the Bruins’ side, head coach Claude Julien discussed the addition of Andrej Meszaros earlier and how the defenseman will fit into the Boston system moving forward.
11:28 a.m.: Andrej Meszaros won’t make his Bruins debut tonight.
B’s coach Claude Julien just told reporters that Meszaros wont’ be in the lineup against the Capitals. That’s not entirely surprising, of course. Meszaros has to learn a new defensive system, and as Peter Chiarelli pointed out Wednesday, it sometimes takes a while to get used to the Boston system. Additionally, the Flyers were playing a man-to-man defense, while the Bruins’ defensive system is more zone-oriented.
Meszaros, by the way, will wear No. 41. Corey Potter, who wasn’t on the ice for morning skate after being claimed off waivers Wednesday, will wear No. 6 for the Black and Gold.
[tweet https://twitter.com/JamieErdahl/status/441611125554442240 align=’center’]
11:15 a.m.: Bruins winger Loui Eriksson didn’t play Tuesday against Florida because of what Claude Julien called a “minor issue.” Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli revealed Wednesday after the trade deadline that Eriksson is dealing with a heel infection and should be back on Thursday.
Eriksson confirmed that on Thursday morning and says he will be in the lineup against the Washington Capitals. The winger told reporters that he cut his foot in a cold tub while in Russia for the Olympics. The cut became infected, and Eriksson had trouble getting his heel in his skate boot, which is why he didn’t play Tuesday or practice Wednesday. But he should be good to go against Washington.
Also, Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask was the first goalie off the ice at morning skate and is expected to get the start.
10:30 a.m.: The Boston Bruins have appeared to right the ship after a small lull following the Olympic break, and they’ll look to get to their sixth three-game winning streak of the season.
To do so, the B’s will have to get through the Washington Capitals on Thursday night at TD Garden. The meeting between Boston and Washington marks the second meeting between the two teams in five days. After not facing each other for almost 60 games, the Bruins and Capitals will square off less than a week after their first meeting on Saturday in Boston. The Capitals won that game 4-2.
Since then, the Bruins have bounced back with wins over the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers. In the process, the Bruins have closed the gap on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The two teams enter Thursday as the top teams in the Eastern Conference with the Bruins three games behind the Pens.
Of course, that isn’t what’s forefront on the Bruins’ minds, at least not directly.
“Well you know, it’s not that — it’s not a priority, but it’s still a matter of us winning our games, and you know, we’d love to be able to pass them, but, you know, that can’t be a priority,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said Tuesday night after his team’s win over Florida. “The priority, for me, is our game and how we play because the rest will take care of itself. And you know, that’s the main concern right now, is us finding our game, and if we can play well and win our games, hopefully it will be good enough to at least catch up, if not surpass them.”
Boston may have a fresh face in the lineup. The B’s traded for defenseman Andrej Meszaros shortly before Wednesday’s trade deadline in a deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. The veteran defenseman is on the ice for morning skate, and it’s unclear at this moment whether he’ll be in the lineup on Thursday night. Then again, Meszaros could sit as he gets acclimated to the system. The B’s also claimed Corey Potter off of waivers from the Edmonton Oilers, but he wasn’t on the ice for morning skate.
Puck drop from the Garden is set for 7 p.m.
