Preview: Bruins look to bounce back against Capitals

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7:00 PM

Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA

How to follow: ESPN+, Hulu, TVAS, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Japers’ Rink

Know your enemy

• 22-9-9, 53PTS, 3rd in Metropolitan Division
• Alex Ovechkin: 40GP, 27G, 28A, 55PTS; Evgeny Kuznetsov: 37GP, 12G, 27A, 39PTS; Tom Wilson: 35GP, 10G, 18A, 28PTS
• Vitek Vanecek: 8-4-5, 2.49 GAA, .911 save percentage; Ilya Samsonov: 13-4-3, 2.77 GAA, .903 save percentage

Game notes

• The Boston Bruins will look to bounce back against the Washington Capitals tonight at the TD Garden after their lackluster loss on Tuesday night.
• It’s the second meeting between the two clubs this season. The Bruins last saw the Capitals on January 10, beating them 7-3. Conor Sheary put the Caps up 2-0 midway through the first, but then the B’s scored six goals, including two on the power play, to lead 6-2 in the second period. T.J. Oshie added Washington’s final tally before Marchand added another in the third period. Five different Bruins scored in the routing, including two goals apiece from Marchand and David Pastrnak. It was also a big night for Matt Grzelcyk who picked up five points on one goal and four assists.
• The B’s weren’t even close to the same team that pounded the Caps when they were pummeled themselves Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. Patrice Bergeron scored the B’s lone goal on the power play, as the team fell 7-1 to the Canes and their dominant offense.
• For a silver lining, that one goal extended the individual point streaks of Bergeron, Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy to three games.
• Defensive-zone breakdowns were the biggest problems for the Bruins last game and they’ll look to tighten things back up tonight. Most goals were the product of guys like Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton losing puck battles and the Hurricanes moving the puck better in their offensive zone.
• Washington hasn’t had the most consistent start of 2022, posting a 2-3-2 record so far in January. They’ve been outscored 26-17 in goals in those seven games.
• The Capitals last played on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets. After trailing 2-0 in the first, Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring. Dmitry Orlov tied the game, while Aliaksei Protas put the Capitals in the lead. After the Jets tied the game in the third period, Tom Wilson quickly scored in OT for Washington to come away with a 4-3 OT win.
• For the Caps, both Ovechkin and Kuznetsov are on a five-game point streak. Kuznetsov has one goal and five assists in those games. Ovechkin has notched a goal a game in his last three games and has five points in five games. He currently leads the NHL in total points with 55 and goals with 27.
• Nick Foligno could return to the lineup tonight. He practiced fully yesterday and Bruce Cassidy said he would be a game-time decision. Foligno has missed the last five games due to injury.
• Linus Ullmark is slated to get the start in net. He took over in the second period for Tuukka Rask on Tuesday. He made 20 saves and allowed two power-play goals.

See ya tonight!