The Washington Capitals made the journey up the East Coast to take on the Boston Bruins in their final contest before Christmas. A win would see the Capitals head into the holiday break on a three-game winning streak.
Justin Brazeau pounced on a rebound in front of Charlie Lindgren to put the Bruins up one. Jakub Vrana stayed hot and pumped home the game-tying goal.
Elias Lindholm put the Bruins up again late in the third period. Charlie Coyle added an insurance marker and Brad Marchand put home an empty netter.
Bruins beat Capitals 4-1.
- Really physical first period, and I thought the Capitals got the better of it at five-on-five. The refs then called Martin Fehervary for a bogus boarding penalty, and the Bruins took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission after striking on the ensuing power play.
- I will never like going with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen. I think it just screws up the natural rhythm of a team when you’re trying to fit in an extra defender. Hendrix Lapierre getting scratched in favor of the Capitals going with that doesn’t seem like great news for him.
- The New York Rangers lost again after Peter Laviolette scratched alternate captain Chris Kreider. If you’re keeping track, the Rangers traded their captain, Jacob Trouba, away earlier this month, and now one of their alternate captains is being healthy scratched. Fun times up there, eh?
https://t.co/ASXbUZFpsw pic.twitter.com/7vu0F0kte1
— KP (@KPnhl) December 23, 2024
- Another slow, gritty period for the second frame that saw the Capitals not put the puck toward the net enough, which would become a theme of this game. David Pastrnak went back to the Bruins locker room injured, so their big weapon was out of commission.
- Jakub Vrana scored to extend his point streak to four games (3g, 1a) and his goal streak to three games. V isn’t getting a ton of minutes but he doesn’t need a ton of ice time to score when he’s this hot. Heck of a shot that clicked off of Jeremy Swayman and into the top corner.
- Pierre-Luc Dubois earned the secondary assist on Vrana’s marker to extend his own point streak to four games (1g, 4a). Dubois has 12 points (3g, 9a) in his last 11 games and has been the Capitals’ best player for probably most of those outings. Ian is going to hate this but I think I’m on the train to campaign for him to get Selke Trophy love.
- Just 1:45 of ice time through two periods for Dylan McIlrath. Ivan Miroshnichenko did not fare much better, playing just 4:05 through 40 minutes. Miro was in Spencer Carbery’s doghouse on Sunday evening after a series of turnovers against the Kings.
it is with a heavy heart that i must announce that today is a washington capitals game day pic.twitter.com/6KJ6ZjojJT
— noah (@capsboybebop) December 23, 2024
- Going without a shot on goal on a five-minute power play is just brutal. The man-advantage unit is shooting pretty hot right now but I’ve hated just about everything else about it. There’s nothing cohesive about how they work the puck around. It just feels like a ton of guesswork and hope plays.
- I’m not sure why Aliaksei Protas just gets completely excluded from anything regarding the power play. Like, I like Taylor Raddysh plenty, but why is he seeing minutes on the second unit over Protas?
- Good to see Martin Fehervary return from that Oliver Wahlstrom hit.
- Well wishes to Craig Laughlin and the rest of the Laughlin family. Can’t wait until Locker is back in the saddle next week. Alan May did a great job covering for him, though. The team at Monumental Sports Network is pretty darn great.
An Alan May guest spot #JoeBSuitOfTheNight pic.twitter.com/mG9OBq4w0o
— RMNB (@rmnb) December 23, 2024
The Capitals will now be off for three days before returning to practice on Friday morning. Their first game back is against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.
Happy holidays!
