The Capitals ended the Bruins’ season the last time the Eastern Conference foes met in the postseason roughly a decade ago.
This time around, the roles were reversed.
Boston on Sunday night punched its ticket to the second round of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs with a 3-1 win over Washington at Capital One Arena. The Caps took Game 1 of the best-of-seven series, but the B’s responded with four straight victories — two in overtime — to move on with their Cup pursuit.
Pretty much any time the B’s and the Caps meet, regardless of the point of the schedule, it seems as though there’s no love lost between the two clubs. That could be true, but the sides nonetheless showed respect for each other after their first-round series came to a close.
The Bruins now will play the waiting game after making quick work of the Capitals. Boston’s second-round opponent will be either the Pittsburgh Penguins or the New York Islanders, whose Round 1 series currently is tied at 2-2.
