Just when it looked like the Bruins would kick away a game they should have captured, they came up up with a pretty good gut-check victory at Capital One Arena.
Kevin Shattenkirk notched the go-ahead shootout goal and then Jeremy Swayman stopped Connor McMichael to lift the B’s to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals.
But the shootout wasn’t even the most dramatic part of the win.
Just 57 seconds into overtime, Hampus Lindholm was given a double minor for high-sticking T.J. Oshie, but the B’s and Swayman managed to kill off the entire four minutes and get it to the shootout. Swayman stopped Alex Ovechkin on a point-plank shot through traffic and then, on the rebound, managed to get a glove on Dylan Strome’s shot from the top of the crease.
From there, the penalty killers did a masterful job, getting in lanes and to loose pucks to kill it off. Brandon Carlo led the B’s with 5:26 of penalty kill time in the game, followed by Andrew Peeke with 4:03.
“Seeing the guys putting their bodies on the line like that, we’re going to need it down the stretch, that’s fun to see,” said Lindholm, who had an eventful game. “Super impressed. Four minutes of 4-on-3, guys were really tired out there. But they were buying in and making guys work for it.”
Said Swayman: “I think it was just our three working harder than their four.”
In the shootout, Jake DeBrusk and David Pastrnak beat Charlie Lindgren — Pastrnak’s shot just broke though Lindgren and rolled inside the post — but Sonny Milano beat Swayman in a must-score situation to extend it. But Swayman stopped Ovechkin and, after Shattenkirk whistled his wrister past Charlie Lindgren’s glove, the B’s netminder snared McMichael’s attempt to seal it.
“That was a hard-fought game,” said Shattenkirk. “They came with a lot of speed. I think we obviously stuck around and had a chance to get away with our power play but we just stuck with it, stayed resilient and that’s going to be important come playoff time. You’ve got to wait around for your chances to come and we just did that.”
For a while it looked like the B’s inability to take advantage of the scoring chances they created — including another two power plays that went for naught — would wipe out a strong defensive effort. They allowed just 16 shots on net in the first 60 minutes, a season low.
For the first time in four games, the B’s scored the first goal of the game, Lindholm’s first tally in 51 games.
But the game started with Lindholm saving a goal on the first shift of the game. Charlie McAvoy pinched down the right wall but couldn’t control the puck and the Caps broke out with numbers. Swayman stoppedOveckin’s shot but could not corral the rebound and McMichael swooped in. He took it to his backhand and appeared to have an empty net, but Lindholm sliced in behind Swayman to make a goal-saving stick save.
The B’s were a little slow out of the gate but eventually gained their footing and held an advantage in the first. Coach Jim Montgomery had loaded up with his top pair and line, pairing McAvoy and Lindholm on the back end while reuniting Brad Marchand, Pavel Zacha and Pastrnak.
It was with those five players on the ice that the B’s made it 1-0 at 18:47. With Marchand battling for position in front of the net, Lindholm snapped a left point shot on net that eluded Lindgren for the defenseman’s second goal of the year.
The lead didn’t last long.
With the long change in effect in the second period, the B’s were caught in a bad change, allowing Nick Jensen to send Michael Scarbossa off on a partial break on his off wing up the right side. With Shattenkirk desperately trying to close, Scarbossa ripped a wrister that beat Swayman over the blocker to the far side at 1:20.
But just 1:02 later, the B’s had their lead back. John Beecher blocked a Strome pass out high in the zone and took off. He started the one-man breakout, pushing it ahead to give himself a clean breakaway. Beecher, never known for his scoring touch, calmly slipped a soft backhander between Lindgren’s pads.
The B’s had several good scoring chances to extend the lead, including a 3-on-1 on which Pastrnak’s pass was deflected and the puck never made it to the net.
Then the B’s took two penalties. First, they killed off Danton Heinen’s slashing penalty, and then they appeared to poised to kill off Shattenkirk’s hooking penalty. They even survived a period of time when McAvoy lost a skate blade and the Caps had essentially a 5-on-3.
But with the seconds ticking off the penalty, Max Pacioretty made a sweet pass across the top of the crease for John Carlson. Celebrating his 1,000th game, Carlson beat the block attempt from Carlo to even it up at 14:03.
The B’s had a 17-11 shot advantage over the opening 40 minutes, but they were in a deadlock heading into the third. On this night, the B’s managed to produce the feel-good win in a most unusual manner.
