Boston Bruises just kissed the Stanley Cup Goodbye during their Wednesday’s playoff game. The victory was on Washington’s side thanks to the 2-1 score which marked their seventh 1-goal game, says Reuters.
It was the seventh time during this year’s season when Washington Capitals won a game thanks to a 1-point difference. Analysts have described the game as a new record in the history of the National Hockey League. Their good performance during the Wednesday competition will take Washington to the semifinals in the race for the Stanley Cup.
Joel Ward was the hero of the night. He made a rebound during the overtime, more precisely at 2:57, when he scored the winning point against the Bruins. The victory wouldn’t have been possible if it hadn’t been for rookie Braden Holtby who managed to stop 31 shots on behalf of Washington. Matt Hendricks was the first to score for the Capitals during the Wednesday game.
Karl Alzner, Capitals’ defenseman, told reporters that he felt relieved to see that the team has overcome the most difficult part of the season. His pride was, however, bigger than any other feeling because the Capitals managed “to turn the page” and obtain better results in the postseason.
Boston Bruins were hoping to repeat the 1997-1998 victory against the Detroit Red Wings. Unfortunately, they were not able to become Stanley Cup champions one more time as they only scored one point thanks to Tyler Seguin. Tim Thomas was less receptive than the Washington goaltender, but he managed to make 26 saves for his team.
Boston’s defenseman, Zdeno Chara, was upset by the results of the game, but encouraged his colleagues to have an optimistic approach towards their performance. He stated that they were very close to making it to the Eastern Conference semifinals, but they “came up short”. He concluded that Boston should not be disappointed by the results as the players did their best to win.
It is for the first time in two years when the Capitals make a good game in postseason. They used to lead the NHL with 121 points in 2010, but never made it to the semifinals since 1998.
