Silver lining in black and gold
Donato, linemates look sharp in loss
While the Bruins proved they can play with the Washington Capitals — and did so in spades — they also showed they cannot score with the defending Stanley Cup champions in their 4-2 loss last night at the Garden. At least not yet. And, yes, they did deserve a better fate than what they had to show for their excellent effort in one of the best games of the season. What they had to show for it was their 14th straight loss to the Caps, a streak of futility dating back to March 29, 2014, when the likes of Jarome Iginla, Carl Soderberg and Dougie Hamilton wore the black-and-gold. They also showed they are an unfinished product. If management truly expects to be legitimate Cup contender, they need to go out and get another top-six wing, one who can help make scoring a 5-on-5 goal not seem like such a brutal chore. But if there was a silver lining in this loss, it was the play of the Underclassmen Line of freshmen Ryan Donato and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and sophomore Danton Heinen. Often a third line in name only and usually relegated to fourthline minutes, the young trio pulled its weight most of the night and scored the B’s first goal of the night, demonstrating that Capitals goalie Braden Holtby could in fact be beaten. They were on the attack most of the time they were on the ice, forcing turnovers in the offensive zone and creating a few scoring chances. Donato, the goalscorer who would be bumped up to the second line late in the game, had a game-high seven shots. They did have one shift midway through the third when they were caught out on the ice against the Alex Ovech- kin line and failed to get the puck out, needing a good Jaroslav Halak save to survive it. Otherwise the group was very good, which is promising for a team still looking for a little more scoring from the bottom six. “I thought they were one of our best lines,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I didn’t get nervous with them out there. I think there was a shift in the third where they maybe got a little bit soft on a slot battle puck. JFK looked like he had it and Ryan started leaving early. That’s where you want to make sure they bear down. I think they got caught out there against a good trio, so recognize the situation, too. But, no, I thought they held their own and outplayed whoever they were against for most of the night.” The goal they produced was a combination of hard work and pure skill. John Moore, beaten for a breakaway goal by Jakub Vrana earlier in the game, won a battle for a puck deep in the zone and got it for Forsbacka Karlsson, who moved it quickly to Torey Krug on the left side of the blue line. Krug made a quick, deft pass to Donato on the right side. And with a whole bunch of time and space between Holtby and him, Donato walked down to the right circle and simply wired a wrister past the Caps goalie, who had looked impenetrable up to that point. It was the kind of goal not everyone in the NHL can score. “I thought it was one of his better games, on the puck, attacked well, obviously finished a nice play. What I liked about that play he scored on, he actually covered up for the defenseman,” Cassidy said. “He was in the right position and the puck found him, so as a coach, those are the strides you hope players make over time. He missed an assignment that was very similar the other night, so good for him. Because he can finish plays. We know that. He’s around the front of the net, so that part of his game we like. He’s always competitive there, it’s just rounding it out. Tonight, he was arguably our most effective forward.” If the trio doesn’t build off this performance, last night’s performance won’t mean much in the overall scheme of things. But if it can and continue to be a threat, the B’s might have something here. With the Maple Leafs next tomorrow in Toronto — and a chance they would see Auston Matthews or John Tavares — on an given shift, it won’t be easy. But the group just may have earned itself another shot at it with how it played last night.