Bruins/Capitals: Game 4

Coming into their game four matchup against the Capitals, the Boston Bruins looked to take a commanding series lead in the best of seven series. Right away it's evident that the Bruins are the team with more jump in their game right off the hop, outshooting Washington 37-20 throughout the game. Although scoreless, the Bruins looked dominant in the first period but it wasn't until eight minutes left in the second period did the Bruin manage to get on the score sheet. While on the powerplay after a vicious hit on Miller which resulted in him exiting the game, Brad Marchand gets the redirection on a David Pastrnak shot, 1-0 Bruins. Bruins continue to play a disciplined, well-structured defensive game throughout the remainder of the period, ending it on the power play which continued into the third. Thirty seconds into the period, after obliging his teammates in a game of tic-tac-toe with the Washington defense, David Pasternak finally finds that long-awaited goal, getting off the snide to make the score 2-0 Bruins. Not thirty seconds later, Charlie Coyle picks up Jake DeBrusk's loose change out in front of the net to make it a three-goal lead. At this point Washington looks visibly spent and frustrated, all the while being outhit and shot by a wide margin as well. Five minutes in, Washington salvages a goal finally but only on a deflection off of a Bruins' stick which is awarded to Ovechkin on the powerplay, 3-1 Boston. Ten minutes later, Matt Grezclyk, puts a bow on it, scoring the Bruins third powerplay goal of the night. The Bruins put the Capitals on the brink of elimination as the series shifts back to the nation's capital Sunday night for game 5.

Back-to-back Wins and a Capital Pummeling + Taylor Hall

For the sake of consistency purpose, the Bruins aimed to win two games in a row for the first time in almost a month, coming into a highly contested match with the Washington Capitals. The Bruins once again turned to Jeremy Swayman. They were again without top-pairing defenseman Charlie MacAvoy for the second consecutive games as he deals with the effects of an upper-body injury. Bruins get off to the quick start, 33 seconds in, right off the face-off, after a Jeremy Lauzon shot bounces around and dribbles past the Washington netminder for the early 1-0 Bruins advantage. Shortly after that, with four minutes left in the first, Anton Blidh sneaks one in for his first goal in five seasons to make it 2-0 Bruins. Four minutes into the second period, Brad Marchand extends to Bruins lead to 3-0 with a filthy, highlight-reel worthy short-handed shot. The Washington Capitals come roaring back with two quick goals, 19 seconds of one another after a double-minor penalty on Blidh is called along with a Jakub Zorbil interference call, which led to the 5-on-3 advantage for Washington. Craig Smith scores a power play goal to put a cap on it with 4 minutes left in regulation, and the Bruins win it 4-2 to win consecutive games for the first time since March 16-18th.

The last time the Boston Bruins had a three-game win streak was back on February 1st-5th when they took down Washington and Philadelphia, two games in a row. With three games in a row was on the horizon, the Bruins just needed to execute. The Bruins were winners of two in a row when they came into the Wells Fargo Center for a matinee matchup against the Flyers. Bruins get on the board 5 minutes into the first, when Patrice Bergeron buries a Craig Smith feed from out in front of the net, 1-0 Bruins. The Flyers scored the following two goals, including a power play goal from Gostisbehere with less than three minutes remaining in the period. Jake DeBrusk ties the affair almost halfway through the second period, on a Smith feed in the slot, but the Flyers kill any dreams the Bruins have of winning three in a row when a  Sean Couturier wrist shot in the this is the eventual game-winner, Flyers come back and upset the Bruins 3-2, who fail to win 3-in-a-row

The very next night, the Washington Capitals were back at the Garden to take on the Bruins in a game that most Bruins fans with a heartbeat would be looking for forget in a millisecond. Chris Wagner loses a fight with Brendan Dillon right off the face-off to start the game, and then from there, their lack of blueline depth was exposed like a molvtok cocktail through the front window of your worst enemy, an 8-1 bludgeoning. Craig Smith, scoring the lone Bruins goal during third period garbage time. Bruins needs to make moves come the trade deadline to remain competitive in this division.

With Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar, and Mike Reily, the Bruins brand new trade deadline acquisitions in the lineup. The Bruins hope to turn the page on the 8-1 thumping two nights before and hopefully inject some exuberance into the lineup and finally solidify that second line. Hall's now-former team, the Buffalo Sabres, arrived at the garden with old friend Anders Bjork on their lineup. Less than 2 minutes into the affair, former Bruin Colin Miller scores a bomb from the blueline, beating netminder swayman cleanly, 1-0 Buffalo. Almost six and half minutes left in the first, Lauzon chips the puck in that deflects off the goaltender, and David Krecji puts home for the tie score. Five minutes into the second, new Bruin Taylor Hall brings the puck up-ice and drops it back to Craig Smith for the goal to put the Bruins up 2-1. Eight minutes left in regulation,  Jokijarju gets a puck to Rasmus Dahlin, who blasts a rocket past Swayman from the blueline to tie 2-2. Time winds down, and after an uneventful overtime period, both teams find themselves in the shootout. The Bruins score on both their first two chances with goals by Coyle and Debrusk, who roofs one over the goaltender's right shoulder for the game-winner. Bruins win 3-2!

No team has given the Boston Bruins fits much like the New York Islanders have in 2021. There's nothing the Bruins needed more with the Isles coming into the garden for a two games series than for the Bruins to get Tuukka Rask back in net and for the team to get out to a quick start. That's exactly what they got with a newly revamped aggressive checking fourth line that came out of the gates, ruining opposing players' nights. At almost two minutes gone in the game, Brad Marchand rings a puck in and out off the net camera, so quick no one was sure it went in, but after review, the goal was confirmed, 1-0 Bruins. Around seventeen minutes later, with three minutes remaining on the period, David Krecji dishes a pass from the boards to Craig Smith, who rockets it along the ice past Islanders goaltender, Varlamov for the 2-0 Bruins score. The second period starts, and the Islanders get themselves on the board on a Travis Zajac wrist shot, 2-1 Bruins. After a back and forth rest of the second, shiny new toy, Taylor Hall scores his first as a remember of the Black & Gold on a breakaway self pass from Pastrnak for the 3-1 advantage with almost two minutes gone In the period. Brad Marchand scores his second of the game on a bad angle shot for the empty-net goal. Bruins heat the Islanders 4-2 for their first victory against New York this season!

Kings Sweep and Winners of Four in a Row but Fall to the Ducks

The San Jose Sharks traveled down to the Staple Center for a two-game tilt against the LA Kings. An affair in which the Sharks' second line came alive and dictated the pace of play for a vast majority, scoring a goal in every period for the eventually 3-0 Shutout, where Matin Jones had 30 saves against his former team. In the first, at 3 minutes in, we saw a Balcers feed to the front of the net, Where Tomas Hertl tips the pass in for the 1-0 score. At 11 minutes into the second period, Hertl again, this time sending a pass from behind the net way out to Timo Mierer, who roofs it home, making it 2-0. After a Dylan Gambrel goal is called back five minutes into the third, Sharks find the empty-net goal with 37 seconds left in regulation when Brent Burns breaks his stick. Balcers immediately recognizes this and hands Burns his left-handed stick and immediately skips to the bench to reclaim a new one. Burns them passes Balcers a pass from to the boards into the empty, an incredible scene to see be played out. Sharks win 3-0.

In game two, the Sharks went right back to Jones, hot the heels of his stellar shutout performance. Sharks get to quick work on Jonathan Quick; four and a half minutes into the first, Kevin LeBanc dumps a puck in deep, only to be fed it by Couture, slapping in like a pinball, bouncing and hitting off everything on sight before finally finding the back of the net for the early 1-0 advantage. 2 minutes later, Kings come roaring back, tipping a puck past Jones to tie the tilt 1-1. Five minutes into the second period, Couture goes in deep behind the net to retrieve a puck that he swings out front to the tape of Evander Kane's stick, which puts it past the pads of a sprawled out Jonathan Quick to go ahead 2-1. Later on in the period, with four seconds left, while on a San Jose power play with, the Kings tie it at two pieces with a short-handed goal. There was a lot of speculation on how the Sharks would respond after giving up such a deflating goal going into intermission. Dylan Gambrel answers the skeptics when goaltender Jonathan Quick turns the puck over behind the net, which John Leonard instantly sends Gambrell's way for the easy score. The eventual game-winner, Sharks win 3-2 for the series sweep and, for the first time all season, win four games in a row!

Riding high on their longest win streak of the season, the Sharks welcomed the Anaheim Ducks into the SAP Center Tuesday, April 6th, in a game that the Sharks really couldn't muster up much of anything outside of Patty Marleau's powerplay goal in the second. A game in which Boughner tried implemented unconventional tactics to spark his team, such as pulling goaltender Martin Jones with 7:13 left in the third, which immediately backfired. Despite matching Anaheim for the most part with 34 to 35 shots on goal, the Sharks fall 5-1, ending their four-game win streak.