Bruins Drop Shootout to Capitals in Homestand Opener

BOSTON - David Pastrnak notched his 10th goal of the season and Tuukka Rask made 27 saves, but the Bruins fell to the Washington Capitals, 2-1, in a shootout on Wednesday night at TD Garden in the opener of a three-game homestand.
"They compete hard, they've got a lot of guys that are physical," Brad Marchand said of the Capitals, who now lead the Bruins by three points for the top spot in the East Division.
"They're a big team and we have to play that same way to compete with all those teams and be the best in our division. We came along as the game went on. We didn't have our best first, but we got through it.
"It was a playoff-type game, got a little more physical as the game went on."

Falling Short

The Bruins (19 shots) didn't generate much offensively and had only nine shots through two periods, but Pastrnak opened the scoring 1:19 into the third when he buried a beautiful cross-slot feed from Marchand to give Boston a 1-0 lead.
Washington responded just under five minutes later when Lars Eller tied things at 1. Jakub Vrana scored in the opening round of the shootout for what proved to be the winner after Jake DeBrusk, Pastrnak, and Marchand were all denied by Capitals goalie Vitek Vanecek.
"It seemed like the ice was heavier tonight for both teams, they looked fatigued," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "Puck was bouncing around, didn't lend itself to a lot of crisp plays. We stayed in the game…not gonna sit here and say we're satisfied, but they've got a good team over there.
"We've got some young D that have to understand what it's like to play against big guys, explosive guys. I thought situationally we handled that well and then came out and sort of found our legs in the second and in the third got the lead.
"We made a bad play, a turnover that cost us. We made a few of them and that one eventually bit us. The positives are you're up a goal in your building. The negatives, we still didn't generate enough throughout the lineup. We'll keep working on that."

Rask Stands Tall

Rask was immense for the Bruins, particularly in the overtime when he stopped all six of Washington's shots, including a gorgeous right pad stop on Dmitry Orlov with 1:45 left in OT to keep the B's alive. Rask also made a nifty two-pad stack save on Alex Ovechkin with the game tied, 1-1, in the third.
"We recognize we're a good team when we break pucks out of our zone either clean or don't cause turnovers," Rask said of the team's defensive effort. "Whenever we can do that, we won half the battle, and it becomes a battle in the neutral zone."

Chara Feted

Playing in his first game at TD Garden since signing with the Capitals in December, Zdeno Chara received a video tribute during the first TV timeout. The former Bruins captain received a standing ovation from both teams, though the moment was, obviously, far less emotional without a full Garden crowd to show their appreciation.
"I felt a little bad for him that there wasn't 18,000-plus fans here giving him the ovation he deserved, to be honest with you," said Cassidy. "That would've been a real nice thing for him but obviously that's not able to be done right now with the circumstances."
Nonetheless, Chara appeared touched by the gesture and stood up to give a wave and a stick tap to his current and former teammates.

Under Their Skin

Trent Frederic continued to show he is unafraid to ruffle some feathers. The rookie forward challenged Ovechkin to a fight - to no avail - early in the third period, before tangling with the Washington captain again later in the period. At that point, Frederic gave Ovechkin a couple of light cross-checks before Ovechkin responded with what appeared to be a spear to Frederic's mid-section. The players received matching minor penalties.
"We call it impacting the game," said Cassidy. "Everyone that comes into the lineup has to find a way, whether it's through offense, physicality, steady defensive play, faceoffs, penalty kill, power play, whatever. He's come into the league and decided that he's gonna be an agitator to a certain extent but keep his discipline so he's not putting us at a disadvantage.
"I think he's done a good job with it. He's gonna have to build his game. Offensively, he's started to. I think tonight he could have shot a few more times. He was in there once and handcuffed him a little bit.
"We like that out of him. It's a little bit of abrasiveness. It's still welcome in the game. He can continue to bring it as long as he doesn't get off his game. If it gets other people off their game, then I think it's a positive."

Tinordi Debuts

Jarred Tinordi suited up for his first game in Black & Gold - becoming the first player in team history to don No. 84 - and played a solid, simple game. The veteran blue liner's night did not get off to the greatest start, however, as he was on the ice for what appeared to be the game's opening goal from the Caps midway through the first.
But after a challenge by Cassidy, the goal was overturned for offside upon review. Overall, Tinordi, who was paired with Connor Clifton, landed two hits in 16:41 of ice time.
"[Him and Clifton] duplicated on [the overturned goal]," said Cassidy. "They started reading off each other with the breakouts. I thought Jarred kept it simple and clean."

Coyle Sidelined

Charlie Coyle was put into COVID-19 protocols before the game and was forced to sit out his first game of the season. Coyle, who took part in morning skate, is just the second Bruins player to enter the protocol this season. Karson Kuhlman started the season on the COVID list and missed most of training camp.
"Obviously we're all trying to get through this thing," said Marchand. "We've been doing a good job so far. Whatever happens with the group happens and we're gonna keep playing."