In a game in which many expected Washington’s best, it was the Bruins who played as though they were the ones trailing in the series Friday night at TD Garden. From the opening faceoff to the final horn, Boston was the faster and hungrier team and came away with a 4-1 win to take a 3-1 lead in the series.
The Bruins outshot the Capitals 37-20 and led in almost every statistical category, including special teams. Boston made Washington pay on the man-advantage, going 3-for-5 on the power play. Meanwhile, the Capitals went just 1-for-7 and their lone tally was a rather fluky one.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the game for the Bruins was how they responded after Washington scored to make it a 3-1 game with plenty of time remaining in the third period.
Boston didn’t cower. Instead they continued to play on their toes and scored the next goal to ice the game and eventually win 4-1.
Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle and Matt Grzelcyk each scored a goal in the winning effort and Charlie McAvoy led all scorers with three assists.
Tuukka Rask earned his third straight win and the 54th postseason win of his career, the most of any goalie in franchise history.
It wasn’t all good news for the black and gold, however, as Kevan Miller left the game in the second period after a late, high hit from Dmitry Orlov. Miller was transported to the hospital for further evaluation.
Here are three key takeaways from the game.
1. Power play makes Orlov pay for hit on Miller
It wouldn’t be a game against the Capitals without some type of controversial hit and that’s what happened just over seven minutes into the second period of Game 4.
After releasing a pass crossing the offensive blue line, Kevan Miller was the recipient of a rather late, high hit from Capitals defenseman,Dmitry Orlov. The result of the play was Miller being knocked out of the game and being taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
Orlov was originally assessed a five-minute major but was ultimately penalized just two minutes for the hit on Miller — he and Charlie Coyle were also given matching roughing minors.
Regardless of where one stands on the penalty minutes given — or lack thereof — the Bruins made the most of their power-play opportunity when Brad Marchand tipped home a David Pastrnak wrist shot to give Boston a 1-0 lead.
It was the second power-play goal for the Bruins’ new top unit in as many games, and they would add another in the third period as well.
2. Pastrnak heating up
Make no mistake, David Pastrnak has had a productive season, scoring exactly a point per game during the regular season. Still, that rate is shy of what Pastrnak is accustomed to performing at and the Bruins have been waiting for him to re-establish his offensive confidence.
That’s exactly what transpired during a crucial Game 4 on Friday night.
Pastrnak was engaged all game and in more ways than one. He was hitting, blocking shots and moving his feet. It was only a matter of time before he broke through in the goal column.
While it appeared he netted a goal on the power play in the second period, it was ultimately credited to Marchand. Still, it was Pastrnak’s shot mentality that led to the 1-0 strike.
Then, in the opening minutes of the third period, Pastrnak’s efforts were finally rewarded with a goal of his own. Very similar to his shot on Marchand’s goal -- set up on his strong side on the power play rather than his off side -- Pastrnak rifled home a wrist shot to give Boston a 2-0 lead and a little bit of breathing room.
The Bruins are receiving contributions up and down their lineup and Pastrnak starting to regain his form as a top goal-scorer in the league is bad news for the Capitals.
3. Rask sets franchise record
It was a dominant performance by the Bruins from start to finish and Tuukka Rask, while not tested a ton, was rock solid in goal and earned himself the 54th postseason win of his career, putting him alone at the top among all Bruins goalies as the wins leader in franchise history.
Rask stopped 19 of 20 shots faced in Game 4 and the one he didn’t stop was a change-up deflection off Brandon Carlo’s skate that he had no chance of saving.
Much has been discussed about Rask heading into the series, and specifically after the Bruins’ loss in Game 1 that he may end up losing the net to impressive rookie Jeremy Swayman. But Rask has gotten stronger as the series goes longer and seems to be very composed and comfortable between the pipes and is seeing the puck well. There is a long way to go for Rask and the Bruins in terms of closing out the Capitals and ultimately going on a deep run, but earning his 54th postseason win goes to show just how solid he has been in his career — albeit without winning it all as a starter — but that’s a conversation he hopes to put an end to by the end of this season.