In the midst of all of the Tim Thomas/White House boycott controversy, the Bruins returned to the nation's capital once again to take on the Washington Capitals. This was the final Bruins game before the All-Star break.
I wonder if Thomas had played in this game, would he have been booed by the home crowd? Either way, everyone needs to let this situation go.
With that being said, Tuukka Rask did get the start in goal for the B's. Andrew Ference sat out game two of his three-game suspension and Nathan Horton was ruled out due to a mild concussion. He is listed as day-to-day.
Rich Peverley took Horton's spot on the line with David Krejci and Milan Lucic while Zach Hamill took Peverley's spot on the third line. Steven Kampfer replaced Ference in the lineup yet again.
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin did not play in this game as he began to serve a three-game suspension of his own. He will also not participate in this year's All-Star game. Perhaps Patrice Bergeron can take his place? I have only been saying he deserves an All-Star roster spot for the past season and a half now? No big deal.
Lets focus on Tuesday night's game for now. The first 20 minutes went by at a brisk pace. The puck was constantly moving up and down the ice. The Caps had two great chances but their shots went wide of the net. Peverley had the lone goal of the period when he bounced the puck off of Washington goaltender Tomas Vokoun and into the net.
Krejci blocked a shot off of his foot in the opening period, causing his minutes to be briefly limited.
The second period was all about the scoring. The Caps got three goals on Rask, two of which were scored by Mathieu Perreault. For the B's, Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand scored beautiful goals that came as a result of great defensive work. Bergeron and Dennis Seidenberg each had two assists in the game. The game was tied at three after two.
The third period was much like the opening period as there was continuous play without many stoppages. When the puck was in play, it was Washington who controlled much of the possession. What really hurt the Bruins in this game was turning the puck over.
It was one of Washington's 15 takeaways that allowed Perreault to complete his first career hat-trick. Dennis Wideman added an empty net goal to seal a 5-3 victory over the Bruins
You have to give credit to the Capitals. They put significant pressure on the B's all game long. They got the lucky bounces and won key face-offs. Boston could just not dig deep enough to pull this one out.
Boston's next game will be next Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators. In the meantime, enjoy the All-Star break.
Gold Star: Tyler Seguin (1 goal, plus-1 rating)...He had a great defensive game. His defensive work eventually resulted in a goal for himself.
Black Star: Adam McQuaid...Too many turnovers and too much sloppy play for anyone's liking.
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