With the NHL playoffs starting to come into focus, the Boston Bruins are sitting comfortably at the top. A recent surge in the season has the team hanging out at the top of the Eastern Conference. The Washington Capitols' postseason future has yet to be determined. In need of a late-season push, the team's matchup against the Bruins is key.
Boston fell to Washington back on March 1, but what happened after that is what is keeping the team at the top. The Bruins have outscored opponents 50-18 in non-shootout games since the loss and have gone 13-0-1 in their recent stretch to build a solid lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the standings.
The team is coming off a convincing win over the Chicago Blackhawks where they shutout the former champs 3-0. Patrice Bergeron knocked in his 25th goal of the season while Carl Soderberg helped extend the lead. Tuukka Rask recorded 28 saves in the win to put up his league-leading seventh shutout. The Bruins now rank first in the NHL with 149 non-shootout goals allowed. That stat will help them come the postseason. Rask is putting together an award-winning season, having gone 8-0-1 with a 1.31 goals-against average in the month of March.
The Capitols are struggling to keep their heads above water. The team is at risk of slipping out of playoff contention. They are battling Columbus, Detroit and Toronto for the Eastern Conference's final two wild card spots. Alex Ovechkin is not the reason for the drop off. The captain is just two shy of putting up 50 goals on the season. He has a lot of success against Rask, having put up two goals against the star in their last matchup.
Injuries are playing an issue for Washington. Nicklas Backstrom left a recent game early after getting hard checked. He returned to practice this week and expects to play against Washington. Jack Hillen is expected to be out as well after suffering an upper body injury following a collision with Ovechkin.
