The series many hockey fans have been looking forward to seems to be looking like it will be a close war. The Boston Bruins evened the odds against the Washington Capitals in last night’s Game 2 of the series, as star Brad Marchand scored the overtime-winning goal. The game left a lot to be analyzed on various aspects of the Bruins’ play. Here are three takeaways from their triumph against the Capitals in Game 2 of their series.
That Quantity The Fans Were Looking For
The Bruins must’ve read my three takeaways article from Game 1 because the shot quantity significantly improved from last game. The Bruins compiled a measly 26 shots last game, which led to criticism as to why they weren’t getting enough shots on net. They seemed to have fixed that problem, with the Bruins registering a whopping 48 shots on goal in last night’s contest, compared to the Capitals’ 39 shots on goal.
As imagined, the Bruins did, in fact, score more goals as they put more shots on net. It is simple math the more shots you take, the higher the probability of scoring more goals. The Bruins are getting more and more comfortable taking turns shooting on net, which will continue to yield favourable results down the line.
Centers Working Their Magic
Heading into the playoffs the Bruins had the highest faceoff percentage in the NHL. Nothing seems to have changed in that department, with the team annihilating the Capitals at the faceoff circle 41-24. That is an overwhelming percentage of 63.1%, capable of pushing any opponent against the theoretical wall allowing them to control the flow of the game.
Most credit is due to the two veteran presences at the faceoff circle, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. The two combined for a total of 28 faceoff wins, allowing the Bruins to demolish the Capitals’ hopes of winning the puck back easily. The fans are definitely looking for more of the same to come from the Bruins at the faceoff circle because if it isn’t broken, you shouldn’t fix it.
The Stars Have Reappeared
Last game, the criticism coming the way of the likes of Bergeron, Taylor Hall, and Marchand in particular. The criticism can be tossed out the window for the time being, as the three all tallied a goal each in the 4-3 win. There was no doubt of if they were going to show up, but when. For many Bruins fans, it was a relief to see the stars of the team back in action and doing damage where it counts most.
The Bruins will need more presence from their stars, like in Game 2, if they look to make a deep playoff run. They just have to focus on one game at a time and come in every game with that dominant mentality we were used to seeing them play with in the 2010s. If the stars come to play every game in the manner they did Monday night, there’s no reason the Bruins can’t make it deep in the playoffs.
Even Series
With Monday night’s overtime win, the Bruins have now put themselves in a position to move ahead of the Capitals in their next game at TD Garden on Wednesday. Bruins fans everywhere are hoping their team can hang on in what looks like a tough matchup and prevail in the first round. Who was the most underrated player on the ice in Monday night’s game?
