Bergeron, Rask Lead The Way As Bruins Eliminate Capitals And Move On To Second Round Of Playoffs
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins are moving on.
With a 3-1 victory over the Capitals in Washington on Sunday night, the Bruins won the series 4-1 and advanced to the second round.
The Bruins now await for the conclusion of the series taking place between the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins to learn their next opponent. That series is currently tied 2-2.
The Bruins earned the clinching win with second-period goals from David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron, plus another third-period tally by Bergeron. Tuukka Rask made 40 saves for the Bruins, stopping all 20 Washington shots in the second period.
Pastrnak's goal broke a 0-0 tie 2:28 into the second period, as he stickhandled around two Capitals before stepping to the front of the net and slipping the puck past Ilya Samsonov.
Bergeron doubled that lead later in the period, as the Bruins captain beat Samsonov to the blocker side with a snap shot from the slot.
The Capitals halved the Bruins' lead just 11 seconds into the third period, when Conor Sheary scored off his own rebound to get the Capitals on the board.
But Bergeron gave the Bruins a comfortable two-goal lead later in the third period when he stole a pass in the Washington zone and promptly roofed a shot over the shoulder over Samsonov to make it a 3-1 score.
Thanks to a disallowed Washington goal after Rask was pushed out of his crease, that 3-1 score held for the final. The Bruins scored their three goals on just 19 shots on goal.
The Bruins lost Game 1 of this series in Washington before rattling off four straight victories. This marks the fourth consecutive season that the Bruins have advanced past the first round of the playoffs. The only time head coach Bruce Cassidy didn't win at least one playoff sereis came in 2017, his first on the job after taking over for Claude Julien in February of that season. The Bruins were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round in both 2018 and 2020, and they made it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2019 before losing to the St. Louis Blues.
For the Capitals,it's a very different story, as they've now been eliminated in the first round for three consecutive years after winning the Stanley Cup in 2018.
By winning in five games, the Bruins secured themselves some rest, as they await the end of the first round. The Bruins did not have two consecutive days off from March 25 through the end of the regular season on May 11 in the condensed 56-game schedule.
