“I just got on the ice, and a lot of times that we do 3-on-3 like that, we start interchanging and crisscrossing, trying to free up some space, and that’s kind of what happened”, Niskanen said.
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Bruins lost, 2-1, and will face the Florida Panthers Monday night on the road.
These two will meet in Providence on Sunday afternoon for a rematch.
Boston centerman Patrice Bergeron disagreed with Ovechkin’s assesment. He made 20 saves in the second period alone. “I tried to kind of, like – I don’t try to hit him”.
With the win, the Washington Capitals have now swept the Boston Bruins in consecutive seasons.
“It’s hard. Obviously, you don’t want to be in this position to take a penalty, but even the referee said I get five minutes because I was heavier than him, so it’s kind of unusual”. Later in the second, Ovechkin picked up his first major penalty of the season when he hit Miller from behind against the boards. Rask fell to 1-8-4 lifetime against the Capitals.
After the game, Bruins Coach Claude Julien wondered if Ovechkin should have been ejected with a game misconduct after the hit. “You guys can answer that question yourselves”.
“I stay away from commenting on that, because we’re gaining nothing from that stuff, and obviously the league is going to review it”, Julien said. I didn’t try to go through him or something. You know, it’s a unsafe, risky play.
Torey Krug pounced on a rebound of a David Pastrnak shot and beat Grubauer with what would have been the defenseman’s first goal in his last 40 games 3:17 into the second.
Niklas Backstrom’s backhand pass was tipped home by Alzner at 13:08 of the period to tie the game, Alzner’s first goal in 22 games and Backstrom’s 30th point in 28 games against Boston. A second potential Boston goal was taken off the board in the second period after Washington challenged and the linesman agreed that Loui Eriksson was offside on the play.
“I saw it on the screen and I watched it again”, Trotz said. Washington’s Brooks Orpik struggled to get off the ice after a hit late in the game. The Bruins play 10 of their next 13 games on the road, while Washington opened a four-game trip on Saturday.
Niksanen scored on a slap shot from the blue line for his second victor in three games and his third of the season.
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NOTES: Several Bruins recorded 98th birthday wishes for Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt, who is the oldest living National Hockey League alum.
