Crash the net! (Photo credit: Mitchell Layton)
Three times in Game Six did the Boston Bruins gain a lead over the Washington Capitals. And three times did the Caps tie it up. But the Caps just couldn’t finish off Boston.
Rich Peverley was credited for deflecting Bergeron’s blue-line bomb past Holtby. Mike Green got that back with a slapshot from way out, bouncing off Greg Zanon’s lower body in traffic. David Krecji used his speed to convert a power play and restore the Bruins’ lead. Jason Chimera evened it up by finishing off a great setup from Nick Backstrom at the end of the second period. Tyler Seguin’s rebound made easy feeding for Andrew Ference, giving the Bruins their third lead of the day. Alex Ovechkin canceled that out with a laser-quick shot off the faceoff with just five minutes remaining.
Into overtime, which Boston dominated until Tyler Seguin got the game winner. Bruins beat Caps 4-3 (OT). We’re going to Game Seven in Boston.
- Mike Green‘s goal was his first since October 22, 2011– when Bruce Boudreau was head coach and dinosaurs ruled the earth.
- Alex Ovechkin‘s high stick to Zdeno Chara‘s face drew blood, so a four-minute power play ensued. The Bruins and their fans had been waiting for that call since game one, but the Caps PK unit held them to a single shot. Epic kill.
- And then again in the 4-on-3 kill that wrapped around the second intermission. Hendricks got called for a trip a few second into 4-on-4 hockey, leading to a very tense opening to the third period. The PK unit– Alzner, Beagle, Laich– was superb for the duration.
- Jason Chimera clipped an unaware Brad Marchand before his goal. Julien wanted the call but didn’t get it– either because Marchand’s embellishment is hockey’s version of baroque caligraphy or because Ted Leonsis worked the refs on a blog post a few days ago. We think the latter is the reason, but we’re gonna give Ted the secondary assist on the goal anyway.
- The pride of the Caps defense had been sweeping away the loose pucks and rebounds that Braden Holtby’s occasionally produces. Even Dennis Wideman, whose very presence in the lineup is mystifying, excelled at clearing the slot. But when it failed, it failed big– giving Andrew Ference a teed-up puck to hit.
- We lack the intellect and vocabulary to have a cogent discussion about how Dale Hunter manages ice time. Aucoin getting tons of time on the power play? Yeah. Mike Green getting short shrift so that Wideman gets more ice time? No clue. For example…
- As pointed out by maven Nate Ewell, the two even-strength shifts that Alex Ovechkin and Nick Backstom shared resulted in goals. We recommended this after game one, and we are totally cocky about it now.
- Man, Tyler Seguin really picked a good time to get into this series, eh? Birdpoop.
Series record: Capitals 3, Bruins 3
Yeah, that sounds about right. The Capitals never held a lead in this game. They were playing catch-up for way too long, and that’s not a plan for success.
The Ovechkin line was used heavily in overtime. He and his mates have long been criticized as lacking defensive awareness, and that criticism rings true right now. Tyler Seguin was alone in the slot when Lucic set him up for the win. Not sure what Wideman was doing. Not just on that play, but in general.
So we’re going back to Boston in a few days. The Capitals should be disappointed but not discouraged. They played good hockey today. They’ve proved lots of people wrong already. When they win on Wednesday, they’ll have proven everyone wrong.
