Even though there was nothing to play for with both teams, the Washington Capitals showed heart in their final game of the regular season. In a potential playoff preview, well sort of, against the Boston Bruins, the Caps avoided overtime and scored in the dramatic McNugget minute to win 2-1.
Alex Ovechkin, who missed seven of the last eight games with a lower body injury, was back in action. Although we wrote that it was good to rest the starters yesterday, Ovechkin played a lot. But as the game progressed, I thought it was good the great eight was being careful out there while getting the reps he needed.
Ovechkin played 19 minutes, registered four shots on goal, had four hits and one take away while spending 89 seconds on the power play. He told the media after the game that he felt great heading into the playoffs.
Via Samantha Pell of The Washington Post:
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"“I feel great. Right now it is an important time and you have to be ready and you have to be healthy.”"
The first period was scoreless with the Caps leading in shots 10-6.
In the second, Curtis Lazar gave the Bruins the lead at 10:11. The Bruins were playing without 16 of their regulars so it was more of their AHL Providence Bruins lineup than what we’ll see on Saturday night.
The Caps would even the score at 16:15 in the second period. On a loose puck in front of the net, Carl Hagelin was there to bang it in for his sixth goal of the season. Garnet Hathaway and Zdeno Chara had the assists.
1-1 was the score after 40 with the Caps outshooting the Bruins 17-8 in the middle period.
In the third the Caps would win the game and end their regular season on a high note going into the playoffs. They won it in dramatic fashion avoiding overtime.
Justin Schultz fed Michael Raffl, who sent in a wicked shot from a sharp angle along the boards to win the game with just over a second left. It brought the house down and gave the Caps a good lift heading into what will be an interesting playoff series with the Bruins.
The Bruins outshot the Caps 11-5 in the third period but the Caps had the edge in shots 32-25 overall. Vitek Vanecek made 24 saves for a .960 save percentage. He finishes the season with a 21-10-4 record and his 21 wins led all rookie goaltenders. He was sixth in wins in the NHL overall.
The Caps will get some much needed rest before they open Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Saturday night against the varsity Bruins team. Puck drop is at 7:15 on NBC.