Capitals celebrate Backstrom's OT Winner

The Bruins lost in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday afternoon when Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom sent a wrist shot into the twine just 2:56 into the second overtime session. Game 2 played out much the same as Game 1 did, as a goaltender’s duel between Tim Thomas and Braden Holtby. However, this time it was the Capitals who made the most of their opportunities despite being outshot and outchanced during the game. The first period ended scoreless with both teams exchanging turnovers and powerplays generously. Holtby was tested more than Thomas, and he came up big stopping David Krejci with his shoulder to keep the game knotted 0-0 until the second period. Unsurprisingly, it took some flukey bounces to beat the two stellar netminders in Saturday’s match.

The Capitals got on the board when an Alexander Ovechkin shot was partially blocked, allowing the puck to slide dangerously in front of the Bruins’ net. As Thomas went to pounce on the puck, Caps forward Troy Brouwer whacked the disk underneath Timmy T to give the Caps their first lead of the series. Despite falling behind, the Bruins continued to carry the play; physical forechecking led to turnovers and all lines seemed to be contributing to the offensive effort, especially the 4th line (which was used very frequently by Coach Claude Julien). Still, the B’s couldn’t solve the rookie netminder and they went into the third period trailing by one.

Bruin’s forward Benoit Pouliot capped off a ten-minute span of continuous offensive pressure by his team when he charged for a puck that had settled right in front of Holtby after being partially blocked. The TD Garden erupted as Pouliot chipped the puck over an aggressive attempted poke check by Holtby. The game seemed to stay in the Bruins favor through the rest of the third period and the first overtime period because the Bruins were dominating through the neutral zone offensively and clogging up the passing and shooting lanes effectively on the defensive side. However, the Capitals rookie goaltender kept his team in the game and allowed Backstrom the opportunity to end the game after receiving a pass into the slot. Although Thomas would probably like to have the shot back, the Bruins’ star goaltender played an exceptional game and is proving that he can carry this team through the playoffs once again. But Thomas can’t do it on his own; the only way for the Bruins to advance is to get the top two offensive lines to start producing (currently the Bruins third line has both Boston goals in the series). The B’s will have the chance to get their mojo going on Monday night when the teams face off for Game 3 in Washington D.C. at 7PM