Caps vs. Bruins 3-2-2008 Preview

Washington Capitals (30-36; 68 points; 2nd Southeast Division, 11th Eastern Conference, 23rd Overall) vs. Boston Bruins (35-29; 76 points; 3rd Northeast Division, 6th Eastern Conference, 11th Overall):
Caps Game #67, Home Game #34, NHL Game #995

Verizon Center, Washington, DC, 7:08 pm. Washington TV: None. Radio: WWWT 1500-AM, 107.7-FM. Boston TV: None. Radio: WWBZ 1030-AM. U.S. National TV: Versus. Canadian National TV: TSN, RIS (French).

Tonight the Caps face the Bruins for the first time this season at the Phone Booth for the first of three games with Boston in the next 14 days. The Bruins won the first matchup of the season in Boston back in January by a score of 2-0. The Bruins have been on a roll recently winning their last six games in a row and seven of their last eight with the lone loss coming in overtime. In their last game they came away with a 3-2 gimmick win at home on Saturday over Atlanta.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Boston Globe: lockdown, not second best. Boston Herald.

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

Tim Thomas has an 8-1 record with a 1.82 GAA and .940 Save Percentage against the Caps in his career. Cristobal "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE" Huet has a 8-2 record with a 1.93 GAA and .940 Save Percentage against the Bruins in his career. So tonight's game looks to be a low scoring chess match type of game which really hasn't been our cup of tea. Those types of games are often decided on the the special teams and we all know just how "special" our special teams have been this season (which is why we're not talking about "our problem" anymore). What the Caps will need to do is to not only take full advantage of the chances they do get but not get frustrated when things don't work out. While it is nice and a lot of fun to score 5 goals, a 1-0 win counts exactly the same in the standings. This is a lesson the Caps need to learn as teams have tightened things up for the playoff drive.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 1
Bruins 2
Winner by Kobasew

(34-31 on the season)

Editorial Note For the Dozens of Readers of This Blog:

This is the first Monday on the month and I have business of the Order to attend to tonight. This means I won't be at the game nor will I be able to watch it. So there will be no Post-Mortem later tonight.