Bruins eliminate Capitals behind Tuukka Rask’s 40 saves
Behind 40 saves from Tuukka Rask and three goals from their top line, the Boston Bruins are moving on to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after eliminating the Washington Capitals with a 3-1 win in D.C. on Sunday. The Bruins won the best-of-seven series in five games, winning Game 5 by two goals despite being out-shot 41-19.
The Bruins were out-shot 8-4 at 5-on-5 in the first period, but had a 3-1 advantage in high-danger scoring chances. It wasn’t until the second period that Boston found the scoresheet, and it came from a spectacular effort by David Pastrnak, who toe-dragged through his own legs then slipped around both defensemen and goalie Ilya Samsonov to make it 1-0 Bruins.
Pastrnak made a heads-up play on the next Bruins goal – by just laying there. Down on the ice, Pastrnak kept his feet onside as the B’s gained the zone off a pass from Mike Reilly to Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins captain fired the puck past Samsonov from the high slot to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
The Capitals finally found the back of the net just 11 seconds into the third period, as Conor Sheary gathered a rebound from Rask and roofed the puck to make it a one-goal game again. But the Bruins answered strongly with extensive zone time immediately following the Sheary goal. Midway through the third, a giveaway by T.J. Oshie allowed Bergeron to snipe his second goal of the game to make it 3-1.
Washington momentarily thought it had cut the lead to 3-2, but the officials reversed the call on the ice to “no goal” after determining goaltender interference. Caps forward Evgeny Kuznetsov shoved Rask from behind to impede his path to the puck on the shot.
https://twitter.com/CapitalsDist/status/1396641691348656129
The Bruins won four games in a row to close out the series against the Capitals. They await the winner of the series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders, which is tied at 2-2 as of Sunday.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @mattydsays. You can also email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
