The Bruins’ late-season woes deepened Tuesday, April 1st, at TD Garden, where a 4-3 loss to the visiting Capitals extended their losing streak to a concerning nine games, a stretch that became even more notable when Alex Ovechkin, amidst the Boston Bruins struggles, added to his legendary tally with his 891st career goal, drawing him within four of Wayne Gretzky’s iconic NHL record. This historical milestone added a prominent element to the Bruins’ urgent push for a playoff spot. Also of note during the game, Ryan Leonard, fresh from signing with the Washington Capitals on Monday, March 31st, made his NHL debut. The Bruins head to Montreal on Thursday, hoping to end this losing streak when they take on the Canadiens, and the Capitals finish their two-game road trip on Wednesday when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes.
Boston Bruins Lineup:
Geekie – Zacha – Pastrnak
Khusnutdinov – Mittelstadt – Lettieri
Koepke – Lindholm – Lauko
Viel – Beecher – Brown
Zadorov – Jokiharju
Wotherspoon – Peeke
Lohrei – Mitchell
Swayman
Korpisalo
Washington Capitals Lineup:
Ovechkin – Luc-Dubois – Wilson
Protas – Strome – Leonard
Mangiapane – Eller – McMichael
Duhaime – Dowd – Beauvillier
Sandin – Carlson
Chychrun – van Riemsdyk
Fehervary – McIlrath
Lindgren
Thompson
Late into the opening frame, Nic Dowd gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 6:28 with his 13th goal of the season when he roofed a shorthanded shot over Jeremy Swayman’s glove from the left circle. David Pastrnak struggled to keep the puck in at the offensive blue line, but it ended up deflecting into the neutral zone, where Brandon Duhaime picked it up, leading to a 2-on-1. Alex Ovechkin found the back of the net for no. 891, with 4:17 left on the clock in the first period, to give Washington a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal. He received the puck from Dylan Strome, who redirected John Carlson’s pass from the point across the crease to Ovechkin, who quickly buried the puck into an open net at the left post.
Vinni Lettieri, who had just been placed on waivers by the Bruins on Sunday, cut it to 2-1 at 13:55 of the second when he skated into the low slot after Charlie Lindgren attempted to clear the puck around the boards, and it caromed into the low slot, where Lettieri grabbed it up when Marat Khusnutdinov tried to make a pass to him and lifted a shot past Lindgren’s blocker for his third goal of the season. With 2:48 on the clock, Pastrnak guided home Morgan Geekie’s feed for a power-play goal to knot it up 2-2 when he redirected a one-timed pass from Geekie past Lindgren, recording his 36th of the season.
Tapping in the puck at the left post to untie the knot and put Washington back in front 3-2 at 9:23, Strome scored his 24th goal of the season after a one-timer by Aliaksei Protas from the point ricocheted off the end boards. Tom Wilson struck, pushing it to 4-2, at 5:14 of the third period when his pass on a 2-on-1 to Trevor van Riemsdyk deflected in past Swayman off Mason Lohrei’s chest. Only 28 seconds later, Pastrnak made it 4-3 for his second of the night and his 37th of the season off a pass from Geekie, who got ahold of the puck in the neutral zone before heading into the Capitals’ zone, passing it off to Pastrnak, who skated across the top of zone, and then into the right circle before firing through a screen off the far post.
Jeremy Swayman on the past few games with how much fight there’s been/battling, a synopsis of the whole season, what the best mindset to have is during a losing stretch like this/nobody on the team is used to it, and how he keeps his confidence as a goaltender when things aren’t looking too great: “I think we have a lot to be positive on. Like you said, the guys are battling. Knowing that we have a job to do and not getting the results is upsetting. It’s really tough to be in this position, but we’re growing from it, and the effort is something that we can really be happy with. …You can’t really point a finger. It’s the way it’s going right now, and we’re not going to dwell on the past. We have to stay in the present, and even then, I thought we had to push after that. Just goes to show what kind of team we have here and what we can do, and keep pushing no matter what. It’s on all of us to never give up, and we didn’t today,” – “It’s a lot of guys’ first time, and we have to use that as a positive to move forward with this group, and I know that we’re all doing that. It’s awful to go through. We owe so many people a lot better, and we owe ourselves a lot better, but again, it’s the cards we’re dealt, and we have to move forward, we have to push forward. We’re doing a ton of growing, so the future’s bright. …I’ll tell you what, it’s been challenging, really challenging, and I’m grateful for that challenge. I’ve had good nights, and I’ve had bad nights, but that’s something that I have to grow with. I have to keep my head up. I owe it to myself, I owe it to this team, and I need to be dialed every single chance I can get. Today was a good example of that, making sure I was staying positive and extremely competitive and hard on pucks. It’s the worst thing ever not getting results; I’m not going to lie to you. I’m my own worst critic, right? That’s something that I battled and will continue to, but that’s something, again, I can grow from, and we can all grow from. I know that we’re going to start getting results, and it’s ingrained in us forever.”
Ryan Leonard on how his first NHL game felt in front of teammates/family/friends, playing his first game: “It’s pretty cool. My first lap, I looked to my right, and there were a couple of my teammates on the glass. They all told me it was going to happen, and they were going to be there, but it didn’t really sink in until that first lap. …It’s definitely a lot faster than college. I could’ve managed the puck a little bit better; some bad turnovers, but I learned as the game went on. Hopefully, I will keep learning and getting better,” – “I can’t really explain it, honestly. If you had told me this a couple of years ago, it just wouldn’t be real. I don’t really know what to say. I’m just trying to embrace the moment.”
Game Notes:
– Jeremy Swayman made a total of 28 saves for Boston.
– Henri Jokiharju skated in his 400th NHL career game.
– The Boston Bruins have lost nine consecutive games (0-8-1).
– BOS: 30-36-9, WA: 48-17-9
– Charlie Lindgren made a total of 21 saves for Washington.
– Alex Ovechkin has 38 goals (and counting) in 58 games this season. …He and Dylan Strome each had a goal and an assist.
– The Capitals snapped their three-game losing streak (0-2-1).
– Washington has moved within one point of the Winnipeg Jets for first in the NHL standings.
– Ryan Leonard signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals on Monday. In his NHL debut, the 20-year-old forward, who was selected with the No. 8 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, was plus-1 in 14:14 of ice time, staying on a line with Strome and Protas.
Season 4. Episode 26. Is Swayman a Diva? – Bruins Benders Podcast
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