Bruins
Ideally, the Boston Bruins should avoid a first-round matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. And judging by Monday's game against a desperate Washington Capitals team, the Bruins lived as much as that development.
Jeremy Swayman bounced back in what was likely his final start of the regular season. But the turnover-happy Bruins were in idle mode from the beginning.
The opportunistic Capitals didn't manage to get many pucks past Swayman, but they effectively caused chaos in front of the Boston goal throughout Monday's game.
The Caps outscored the Bruins 25-16 and pounced on John Carlson's shot from the purpose after 12 minutes.
The Bruins showed some resistance within the third period and outscored the Caps 8-3. However, they failed of their comeback and lost Brandon Carlo to injury early within the last 20.
Nic Dowd secured Washington's 2-0 win with a late empty-net goal. Here's what we learned from Boston's final road tilt of the regular season.
The Bruins were coming off a loss against a desperate opponent
Over the last month, the Bruins have faced a bunch of teams battling for playoff positioning. They initially struggled to maintain up with the desperate team, but by the tip of March they began to buck that trend an emotional win over the Panthers.
The Bruins prevented the Penguins from coming from behind to win on Saturday, blocking Pittsburgh's path to the East's final wild-card spot.
Charlie Coyle and Co. experienced an analogous scenario of their second game in three nights. The Caps didn't necessarily need a win. Still, a win would have significantly increased their possibilities of securing the East's eighth seed heading into their final game of the yr against the Flyers, who’re two points behind Washington.
The Bruins had some key divisional impacts in the sport. But the Caps had much higher stakes.
Fortunately, the inequality played out. Washington won almost every puck battle, handled Swayman's crease with relative ease, and kept Boston's offensive attack in check.
“They looked like a team that was fighting for a playoff spot and we looked like a team that was already in the playoffs,” Coyle told reporters after the Bruins posted a season-low in shots on goal. “That was not good. We didn't have the sense of urgency that we normally had. Winning loose pucks, winning our battles…we didn’t do enough of that.”
Swayman kept his team afloat during what was likely a final tune-up before the playoffs
Of all the things the Bruins wanted to accomplish Monday night, getting Swayman back on track probably would have been at the top of the list.
In fact, Swayman faced heavy traffic in his 44th appearance of the season. He lost sight of a puck due to Carlson's one-timer from the point. But nearly a week after a shaky game against the Hurricanes, Swayman didn't let up.
As the Bruins looked for their own pace, Swayman remained confident with his post-to-post moves. The former UMaine goaltender had 10 dangerous scoring opportunities at 5-on-5 and stopped all but one of the 24 shots he faced against a Washington team fighting for its playoff life.
“I think it was important that we had a game like tonight this late in the season,” Swayman told the media. “We’ll see that on Saturday [to start the playoffs]. We have to match the intensity and we couldn’t do that tonight.”
Given Linus Ullmark's recent track record, Swayman will likely watch the start of Boston's first-round game from the bench. But with Jim Montgomery repeatedly expressing his intention to continue with the established rotation, Swayman could see the net again in Game 2 as the Bruins begin their postseason with another tough matchup.
The Bruins will face either the Lightning or Leafs in Round 1
On Monday, the Bruins had a major probability of facing the underside wild card team. To accomplish that feat, they might have needed wins over the Caps and Senators, in addition to a Rangers regulation loss to Ottawa and a Carolinas setback (regulation or time beyond regulation) in Columbus.
They'll still need some help to avoid the Bolts, however the Bruins also cleared the way in which for a first-round matchup with the Maple Leafs after Monday's loss.
A win over the Sens or a regulation loss by the Panthers to the Maple Leafs will end in the Bruins facing the Lightning in Round 1.
A Panthers win and any Bruins loss results in a first-round game against Toronto. But with the Panthers within the tiebreaker with more regular-season wins, Florida doesn't necessarily need a win to secure the highest spot within the Atlantic. The reigning Eastern Conference champions can secure first place within the division and ensure one other Boston-Toronto series with an time beyond regulation appearance and a regulation loss by the Bruins to Ottawa.
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