Boston 4, Washington 1
When: 6:30 PM ET, Friday, May 21, 2021
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Referees:
Gord Dwyer, T.J. Luxmore
Linesmen:
Michel Cormier, Ryan Daisy
Attendance:
4565
By Field Level Media
Brad Marchand scored his team-leading third playoff goal, Tuukka Rask stopped 19 of 20 shots and the host Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 4-1 in Game 4 of their East Division first-round series on Friday night.
David Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle and Matt Grzelcyk also scored for the Bruins, who took a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Boston can close out the series with a win in Game 5 on Sunday night in Washington.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 71st postseason goal for the Capitals, tying Bryan Trottier for the 16th-most playoff goals in NHL history. Ilya Samsonov made 33 saves after his momentary lapse late in Game 3 on Wednesday allowed Craig Smith to score the winner 5:48 into double overtime in Boston's 3-2 win.
Boston's three-goal win snapped an NHL-record streak of 12 consecutive one-goal playoff games between the Bruins and Capitals. Five of their past six postseason meetings -- including the first three games of the current series -- had been decided in overtime.
Marchand opened the scoring on a power play eight minutes into the second period, tipping in Pastrnak's shot from the right circle as he screened Samsonov. The goal was originally credited to Pastrnak but later changed to Marchand.
Pastrnak scored on another power play 29 seconds into the third to put the Bruins up 2-0. His wrist shot from the right circle beat Samsonov low stick-side for his first goal of the postseason.
Coyle scored another for Boston 34 seconds later to make it 3-0. Jake DeBrusk's breakaway attempt from the slot sailed high and bounced off the glass behind the net, but he tipped the rebound back to Coyle for the score as he crashed the net.
Ovechkin trimmed the Capitals' deficit to two as his one-timer from the left circle deflected off Boston defender Brandon Carlo's stick and in past Rask at 4:54 of the third.
Grzelcyk capped the scoring for Boston on his power-play tally with 5:10 remaining.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Washington |
|
Boston |
|
Alex Ovechkin 1 |
Points |
Charlie McAvoy 3 |
|
Alex Ovechkin 1 |
Goals |
David Pastrnak 1 |
|
Nicklas Backstrom 1 |
Assists |
Charlie McAvoy 3 |
|
Alex Ovechkin 1 |
Power Play Goals |
David Pastrnak 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Ilya Samsonov .892 |
Save Percentage |
Tuukka Rask .950 |
|
Ilya Samsonov 33 |
Saves |
Tuukka Rask 19 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Washington
|
20 |
1 |
1-7 |
2-5 |
14 |
24 |
| Boston
|
37 |
4 |
3-5 |
6-7 |
18 |
30 |
Upcoming Games
-
Boston will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Bruins have a W/L % of .515 after a win and .682 after a loss.
-
Washington will play their next game at home against Boston. The Capitals have a W/L % of .629 after a win and .650 after a loss.
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