The Bruins didn’t get the result they wanted on New Year’s Eve, but they could build off Tuesday’s loss heading into 2025.
Boston suffered a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. It was a deflating result considering the Black and Gold’s shutout win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden. The NHL is a results-based business, but there are things to build on from the B’s.
Despite the score, the Bruins generated a lot of scoring chances. According to Natural Stat Trick, Boston outpaced the Capitals in scoring chances, 36-18. Joe Sacco’s side generated 3.36 expected goals versus Washington’s 1.92.
Fans might not always want to hear that their team got unlucky, but there’s a solid case to be made that was what happened Tuesday. The Capitals put on a shot-blocking clinic with 28. Justin Brazeau acknowledged on NESN’s postgame coverage Spencer Carbery’s game plan to clog up the inside. It proved effective, but positive regression could come in Boston’s way if it remains aggressive, which it was not in the second period.
Here are more notes from Tuesday’s Bruins-Capitals matchup:
— The power play remains a bugaboo for Boston. It went 0-for-2 with a man advantage and only scored on 15.4% of its power-play chances in December. Sacco admitted there could be a change to the power-play groups to find the best combinations.
“We obviously need to execute better, whether it’s our breakouts, end zone,” Sacco told Andy Brickley, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We need to get tighter to the net, too, as a group, I feel like. We’re too far from the net, so that’s something we have to put a focus on.”
— Trent Frederic moved back to center for the third line after Charlie Coyle’s move to the wing. Frederic’s defensive effort was great for the Bruins. However. his offense wasn’t there like it was last season. That seemed to change in the first period of Tuesday’s game with Brazeau’s opening goal and the scoring chances the third line generated. Unfortunately, that didn’t lead to results, but it could be a sign of a turnaround for Frederic.
“I thought they gave us good energy, had some zone time, did a really good job at the top of the circles,” Sacco told reporters, per a team-provided video. “I thought he (Cole Koepke) brought some speed to that line.”
— Nikkita Zadorov left in the first period after getting caught up behind Jeremy Swayman’s goal with Tom Wilson. The blueliner confirmed the Washington forward’s skate did cut his leg and admitted he got lucky it wasn’t worse. Zadorov returned and finished the game.
“I felt a cut right away and I looked there and I see it’s pretty deep,” Zadorov told reporters, per a team-provided video. “I could see it between my skate and my shinpad, and then I just sprinted to the bench. And when I figured I could put the weight on my ankle, I felt like I was fine.”
— The Bruins’ New Year’s Eve matchup was the first of a three-game road trip. Boston will travel to New York to face the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Puck drop for that Original Six matchup is scheduled at 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage on NESN after an hour of pregame.
