Michael Raffl downs Bruins late in Caps playoff tune-up originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Michael Raffl scored with 3 seconds to go Tuesday to give the Capitals a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins in the regular season finale. With the win, Washington split its eight games with Boston this season 4-4-0. These two teams will meet Saturday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Here are some observations from Tuesday's game.
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The Capitals stayed healthy
The Caps had one primary objective on Tuesday: Stay healthy.
With nothing on the line in Tuesday's game, staying healthy mattered more than anything else and the Caps managed to do that, though there were a few nervous moments.
A puck hit Lars Eller in the hand less than two minutes into the game, Zdeno Chara limped his way to the bench after his knee struck the boards awkwardly less than five minutes in and Nick Jensen was slow to get off late in the first period. All three players remained in the game, however, and seemed none the worse for wear. Barring any surprise injuries, it does not appear the Caps cost themselves by dressing close to their normal lineup.
The only injury on the night was to Boston was defenseman Jakub Zboril, who left the game with an upper-body injury. He has played in 41 games this season.
Alex Ovechkin looked healthy
Excluding the 39 seconds he played on May 3, Tuesday's game was Ovechkin's first game back since April 22 and he looked good playing 19:00. He did not record a point, but did manage four shots on goal. Considering the roster the Bruins dressed, you may be disappointed Ovechkin did not light up the scoresheet, but really that wasn't the point. The point was for him to get back up to game speed and get his timing back and that was a work in progress.
The timing certainly looked a little bit off on the one-timer as Ovechkin skied one shot. He was credited with two missed shot attempts for the game. There was also a chemistry issue with Anthony Mantha as the two have barely had a chance to work together since Mantha was acquired at the trade deadline. There was one sequence in which Ovechkin set up Mantha and Mantha elected to make the extra pass back to Ovechkin which he was not expecting, and the Caps missed out on a high-danger chance. Mantha is hardly the first player who felt compelled to defer to Ovechkin, but that's something to work on. You can't give up good opportunities just because you feel like you have to in order to get Ovechkin the puck.
Most importantly, however, Ovechkin did not appear hindered at all but any sort of lower-body issue. After Ovechkin looked like he was nearing a return earlier in the month, it took him just one shift to realize something was wrong and take himself out. Though Tuesday's game hardly looked like anyone was playing at 100% speed, the fact that Ovechkin skated like his normal self is certainly a good sign that he should be ready to go come Game 1 on Saturday.
Vitek Vanecek
I felt coming into this game that whoever got the start would be the Game 1 starter. He finished the game with 25 saves on 26 shots. He was backed up by Craig Anderson and I think that is the tandem you can expect to see Saturday.
Tom Wilson vs. Trent Frederic
Wilson was quick to insert himself in the third period when there was some shoving going on after the whistle that involved Frederic. Bother players were given 10-minute misconduct, but really that was just the referee trying to stamp out anything before it began. Really, both teams were on their best behavior.
Having said that, it was just a reminder that when these two are on the ice together in the playoffs, you should take note. It may just be Frederic's job this series to get Wilson off the ice because even if they both get matching penalties, that's a trade-off Boston will take every time.
