By: Michael Cantalupo
BOSTON, MA — When you hear you’re hosting the Capitals, the name that strikes fear into your heart is Alexander Ovechkin. Saturday night, it took a mere 11 minutes to turn that fear into reality. Ovechkin netted his first goal of the season on a Carlson (1) and Backstrom (1) assisted shot, and then only 8 minutes later, still in the 1st period, steered the puck past Tuukka Rask again for his 2nd of the night and the season.
The Capitals would only need one though, as goaltender Braden Holtby was a brick wall against the Bruins’ offensive attack. 29 shots, 29 saves. Saturday night marked the first night the Bruins have been shut out since, coincidentally, this same night in 2013, October 10th against the Senators.
The key to this beat down wasn’t all about Capitals’ dominance, it was also a real learning experience for the Bruins, showing that they have some major holes to fill.
Regarding the embarrassment, which led to fans in the TD Garden booing their home team off the ice, Milan Lucic stated, “Hopefully after two games like that we can take this as a wake-up call and move forward.”
Currently, both their Power Play percentage (10%) and Penalty Kill percentage (72.7%) rank 21st in the NHL. It was obvious in the locker room after the game that the Bs don’t want to make excuses for their poor play, but can really feel the effects of having certain guys, especially David Krejci, out of the lineup.
When asked about the disappointing loss, Chris Kelly said it simply, “It’s not Bruins hockey….it’s embarrassing.”
The Bruins currently stand at (1-2-0) with 2 points, and will look to bounce back in a Monday Matinee at home against the Colorado Avalanche. Will Claude Julien look to mix up the lineup on Monday?
When asked, he said “You certainly have to reevalute, there’s no doubt.”