Recap: Nothing doing on offense as B’s fall to Capitals, 2-0

Not the most exciting game.

In what was a game with major playoff implications for Washington, the Capitals shut the Bruins down on offense and skated out of Capital One Arena with a 2-0 win.

John Carlson got the Capitals on the board 12 minutes into the first period, and that would be all the scoring until Nic Dowd sealed it with an empty-netter.

Carlson’s goal game on a point shot through traffic, making it 1-0 Capitals with eight minutes left in the first.

And…that was pretty much it until the Dowd clincher.

Jeremy Swayman had a strong game for the B’s, as he kept them close in what could have been a more lopsided game, but…yeah.

This wasn’t exactly the most thrilling, action-packed game of hockey you’ll ever see, but the Caps got the result they needed (and deserved).

2-0, Caps win.

Game notes

• This was the second time the Bruins have been shut out this season — and both were against Washington. The Capitals beat the B’s 3-0 at TD Garden back on February 10.
• Brandon Carlo left the game early in the third period. I didn’t notice a glaringly obvious injury, though some on Twitter mentioned a shot block that could have been the issue. I also think I remember a pretty heavy collision with Tom Wilson at the offensive blue line, but could be imagining that.
• Obviously a Carlo injury would be pretty significant, and I had plenty of “just don’t get hurt” moments in that third period — Pavel Zacha got crunched pretty good by Wilson near the bench/glass, then almost took a dump-in off the hand, but maybe I’m just in panicked pre-playoff mode.
• The Carlson goal was complemented by a Karlsson goal elsewhere in a pretty cool twist.
• This was a physical game from both sides, with the B’s and Capitals combining for 91 hits, 50 of which were credited to the Bruins (six of those were by Pat Maroon).
• I thought Jakub Lauko had himself a decent, energetic game. He had one of the Bruins’ better scoring chances, recorded five hits, and generally brought some life to each shift. He’s fighting for playoff ice time, so games like this will help.
• The Bruins managed a paltry 16 shots on goal, half of which came in the third period. So yes, your math is correct: they had just four shots in each of the first two periods. Swayman, on the other hand, stopped 23 of 24 shots he faced.
• It almost certainly wouldn’t have mattered, but the turnover from Brad Marchand to end the game was disappointing. The B’s likely had time for one last prayer of a rush, and while Dowd deserves credit for a great stick lift, Marchand needs to be more aware there. I still think he doesn’t look quite right overall.

The Bruins are back at it in the regular season finale Tuesday night, when they host Ottawa at TD Garden.

Who are the Bruins playing in the first round?

First in the East is now out of reach for the B’s, as they’re three points behind the Rangers with just one game left.

The Bruins will win the Atlantic Division if they beat Ottawa tomorrow night.

If they lose to Ottawa in regulation or OT/shootout, they’ll finish second in the Atlantic if Florida either beats Toronto or loses to Toronto in OT/shootout.

(If the Bruins and Florida end up tied, the Panthers have the tie-breaker via more regulation wins.)

So it’s pretty simple: win and you get Tampa, lose and you might still get Tampa. Or you could get Toronto.

What about the rest of the East?

The rest of the East remains utter chaos.

First in the Metro remains up for grabs, with the Rangers a point ahead of Carolina. Whichever team finishes second will face the New York Islanders, who clinched via a 4-1 win over New Jersey.

Four teams remain in contention for WC2: Washington, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.

• Washington is in the driver’s seat: if they win, they’re in. If they lose in any fashion, they’ll need results to go their way.
• Detroit looked dead in the water tonight, falling behind 4-1 to Montreal before storming back and winning 5-4 in overtime. That game featured an outrageous, jumping keep-in by Shayne Gostisbehere right before Detroit scored a 6v5 goal to tie it.
• The Penguins did their part to stay alive, beating Nashville, 4-2.
• The Flyers weren’t in action Monday night.

On Tuesday night, Detroit will play Montreal and in a fascinating match-up, the Flyers will host the Capitals.

As mentioned, the Caps are “win and in.” If the Flyers beat the Capitals in regulation, those two teams would be tied in points (89), regulation wins (31), regulation/OT wins (35), and total wins (39).

The tiebreaker would then go to head-to-head points, where the Flyers would have three to the Caps’ two.

To make it even better, ALL OF THAT could happen and it wouldn’t matter if Detroit beat Montreal, as they’d have 91 points.

And even if Detroit lost to Montreal in regulation, the Flyers still would miss out if Pittsburgh beat the Islanders on Wednesday (90 points).

My head hurts. Please don’t check my math.