I don’t think anyone had this series ending in 5 games, but here we are. I thought that I was an outlier for predicting Boston in 6, but I was closer in a way I didn’t expect. After the 2019 Stanley Cup Champions being eliminated, now the 2018 Champs are packing their bags, and let’s try to understand why.
Game 1 was a surprising outcome. It was the first game of the playoffs, and everybody was tuned it for this one. It was a thriller, but it was honestly stolen straight from the Bruins' hands. Early in the game, the Caps netminder injured himself attempting to make a save, and Craig Anderson had to come in in relief because Samsonov was on COVID protocol. He played a great game, stealing it for Washington. From the heroics of Nic Dowd, the Capitals stole a 3–2 OT win to take the first game of the series. The Capitals weren’t very disciplined in this one, but they weren’t punished for it. I think that Boston played the better game, despite being outshot 32–26.
Game 2 was the start of another story. Washington decided to go with the hot hand again, starting Craig Anderson in this one. Unfortunately for him, the Bruins once again outplayed the Capitals. This time they also controlled the shots, with a 48–39 advantage. It seemed like the Bruins were abusing Washington's shaky defensive core, which resulted in a lot of high-quality chances for them. Despite all of this, a goal from Taylor Hall with just under 3 minutes left in the 3rd sent this one to overtime. It only took 39 seconds for Marchand to tie the series with a 4–3 OT win.
The third game of this series was even closer than the past two, and people thought that we were in for a very close series. The Capitals decided to go with Samsonov over Anderson, which I found strange at the time considering how Anderson had played so well in the first two games. This game was very close, and if the Capitals played hockey in overtime this series would’ve probably gone in another direction. The shots in the game might have been 43–37 for the Bruins, but across both of the overtimes, the Capitals were outshot 19–8. You just can’t do that. The 2OT winner from Craig Smith ended the game, and it was a really bad play by both Samsonov and Schultz. I put more of the blame on Schultz, but that was a communication error. Either way, Ovechkin got too hot-headed and screamed at Samsonov in Russian for the play, which probably helped end the Capitals series. That isn’t something a captain should be doing, especially while they're on the ice.
Game 4 was where the Capitals lost the series. They just didn’t look good at all. I don’t if they got in their own heads or what. Special teams killed them in this one, and it was simple as that. Even 5-on-5 they were outplayed, but their special teams were on another level of bad. Washington went 1–7 on the powerplay, and Boston went 3–5. That’s not acceptable, and it's certainly not how you win hockey games. Boston took this one by a score of 4–1, and Samsonov didn’t look the best, but not terrible. The shots were 37–20 in favour of Boston, and Washington just looked lost all game.
Game 5 was the Tuukka show. It was the first game where I think you could say Washington outplayed Boston, and Tuukka Rask just completely stole it. Washington outshot Boston 41–19, but Boston took the game 3–1. Boston looks very scary, especially if Tuukka gets hot. Washington was a team with no depth on both sides of the ice, and it showed in this series. Their best line was honestly their 4th, and almost everyone else disappointed.
Despite Ovi still being the highest scoring player on this team, I thought he looked off this series. He was focusing more on being extremely physical rather than playing well offensively. I thought his leadership should be questioned after what happened after game 3, despite how many Capitals fans try to defend him. His contract has now expired, and he has a big choice to make this offseason. Dmitry Orlov looked stable in this series. Schultz and Dillon had their mistakes, and Carlson wasn’t as good as he has shown he can be, but I liked Orlovs play. I’ve always enjoyed watching him but he picked up his game this series. Backstrom was extremely disappointing. Kuznetsov wasn’t much better, and neither was Eller. The Capital's top 3 centres all underperforming killed them against a lineup with Bergeron, Krejci, and Coyle. 1 point between the three of them, especially with how good Backstrom was in the regular season just isn’t good enough. Samsonov wasn’t bad for the Caps. I do wish they had stuck with Craig Anderson, but Samsonov wasn’t awful or anything.
Pastrnak actually looked injured in this series for the first 4 games. I was worried he wouldn’t be fully healthy at all for the playoffs, but after his highlight-reel goal in game 5, it’s safe to say that he’s healthy enough to help the Bruins go on a run. The fact that he still had more than a point a game this series besides this says something about how good he can be. Not many people rate McAvoy as high as I do, and he proved me right in this series. He shut down the Capitals and still managed to be on a point a game pace by the end of it. I thought he was the best player on the ice this series. Craig Smith proved his contract right. His ability to read the game is really good, and he brings some much-needed forward depth to a Boston team that didn’t have any going into free agency. The Hall-Krejci-Smith line has been very good, and I expect Boston to go as far as the top 2 lines take them. Rask was solid in this series. His first 4 games weren’t anything special, but he performed very well in game 5. He stole that one for Boston. I think it’s about time for Bruins fans to stop complaining about him.
Like in the St. Louis vs Colorado series, you can see what went wrong here. The Capitals had much worse goaltending, and them taking fewer shots across the series doesn’t help. Game 5 was a perfect example of this. Special teams didn’t help them out either. If the Capitals kept Philipp Grubauer instead of trading him for no reason, they would probably be in a better position with their goaltenders. The Mantha trade didn’t help either, I see Vrana being better than him next season. Overall, not a great year for the Caps. I think they’re in for some retooling here, especially if Ovechkin doesn't come back. If I was the Penguins or Islanders, I would be scared of Boston. They're very good.