Patrice Bergeron, Bruins finish off Capitals in 5 games
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WASHINGTON — Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak dazzled on offense, Tuukka Rask was rock solid in net and the Boston Bruins are moving on to the second round of the playoffs.
Bergeron scored twice at crucial times after Pastrnak’s highlight-reel goal, Rask made 40 saves and the Bruins eliminated the Washington Capitals in five games with a 3-1 victory Sunday night. Bergeron delivered the dagger with 7:35 left to set up a second-round showdown against either the Pittsburgh Penguins or New York Islanders.
Chants of “TUUKK!” emanated from a large group of black and gold-clad Boston fans who were part of the limited-capacity sellout crowd of 5,333. Those were occasionally interrupted by “We want the Cup!” — the trophy the Bruins last won a decade ago after a 39-year title drought.
They’re 12 wins away, thanks to their best players dominating in Game 5.
Pastrnak made it look easy putting the puck behind his back and through his legs, assisted on Bergeron’s first goal and was part of an effort in front of Rask that kept most of the Capitals’ shots to the outside. Bergeron, who got the “C” when Zdeno Chara left to sign with Washington, beat Ilya Samsonov with a stoppable shot in the second and stunted a comeback bid with an unassisted goal in the third.
The only shot that beat Rask was former Penguin Conor Sheary hammering home his own rebound 11 seconds into the third period. That ended an even-strength goal drought of 147:44, but wasn’t enough to rally the Capitals, who outshot the Bruins, 41-19, and had a would-be goal by Lars Eller with 5:37 remaining waved off for goaltender interference.
Boston won four in a row against Washington after losing the series opener in overtime. After eking out Game 2 in overtime and Game 3 in double overtime, the Bruins capitalized on an aging, banged-up opponent with few answers for their speed and skill.
It’s a third consecutive first-round exit for Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals since they won the Stanley Cup in 2018. This defeat comes after Cup-winning coach Peter Laviolette was brought in for an organization in win-now mode with Ovechkin in the last year of his contract at age 35 and opportunities running out.
While the Bruins joined the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche as the first teams to advance, the Capitals face a litany of questions this offseason about Ovechkin, center Evgeny Kuznetsov and the goaltending position at large.