With Jeremy Swayman - just four-plus periods into his NHL career - between the pipes, things could have gone even further off the rails. Fortunately for the Bruins, the young netminder remained undaunted.
The 22-year-old helped the B's kill off the remaining 1:41 of the Capitals' power play and put Boston in position for a far more stable finish. The Bruins fed off their rookie backstop and added an insurance, power-play tally from Craig Smith in the third to secure a 4-2 victory over Washington at Capital One Arena.
"Every one of the guys came up to me and said, 'It's not on you,'" said Swayman. "But again, as a goalie, all I want to do is stop the puck and help my teammates. I evaluated it quick and then forgot about it and all I was worried about was the next shot. Easy transition for me to keep my mind right and make sure I was ready for the next shot."
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, after consultation with goalie coach Bob Essensa, opted to ride the hot hand after Swayman's strong debut on Tuesday night in Philadelphia and go right back to the Alaska native against the Caps. It proved to be a prescient decision as Swayman made 31 saves, 24 of which came over the final two periods, to secure his second consecutive victory.
"We heard he was a great goalie," said Brad Marchand, whose sensational shorthanded tally in the second proved to be the winner. "He's as advertised. He competes very hard. Phenomenal kid off the ice. Great to be around. He's a great goalie. He's quick, he competes, and just seems to have great positioning. It's great that he's stepping up at a time like this."
Video: Swayman talks to media after second career win
With Tuukka Rask (upper body) and Jaroslav Halak (COVID protocol) missing time over the last few weeks, the Bruins have been without over 1,000 games of experience between the pipes. But Swayman and Daniel Vladar - now with seven NHL games between them - have filled in with performances beyond their years, combining for a 4-1-1 record.
"For them to come in and play the way those two have, it's huge for our group because of the confidence to play in front of them," added Marchand. "When we have a breakdown, we know they're gonna be there to back us up. That's what we need. You have to be able to rely on your goaltender to be your best player. They have been the last few games."
Cassidy was, once again, particularly impressed by Swayman's poise. After Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie - two players that Swayman watched as a kid - struck for those back-to-back power-play markers, there was no drop in the netminder's demeanor or performance.
"He could have started second guessing himself, 'Hey, maybe I should have made those saves and I'm letting the lead get away and now what?' I just think he moves on," said Cassidy. "That's what it's appeared to me so far. The other night, same thing. We had a two-goal lead and they scored good goals where we broke down.
"He just gets back in there and, simply put, I think he just worries about making the next save, which is a great mentality to have at any position, but particularly as a goaltender."
Back for Seconds
The victory also marked Boston's first set of back-to-back wins in three weeks, an impressive feat considering the Bruins were without their top two goalies and their top two defensemen in Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo, both of whom are out with upper-body injuries.
Boston is now seven points clear of Philadelphia and the New York Rangers for the last playoff spot in the East Division and is now just four points back of Pittsburgh for third place, with three games in hand.
"With this group and the character we have, we knew we were gonna battle our way out of it and come back and build the game that we want to," said Marchand. "That's kind of what's happened. Different guys are taking advantage of the opportunity that they have playing more minutes.
"It's crunch time. We've got to put some wins together and separate ourselves. It's just seems like we've always been a group that when that time comes, we rally and compete, and different guys step up at different times."
Video: Marchand, Bruins topple Capitals, 4-2
Sensational Shorty
Marchand put his penalty killing prowess on display again on Thursday night. After becoming the club's all-time leading shorthanded scorer with his 48th career point on the kill during Tuesday's win over the Flyers, the winger was back at it with a sensational effort in the second period.
With Boston up, 2-0, Marchand picked up a loose puck high in the Bruins' end, carried it through the neutral zone, toe-dragged around Caps' defenseman Justin Schultz, and finished with a silky backhander by goalie Ilya Samsonov for his 30th career shorthanded goal.
"You try to be smart about when you attack," said Marchand. "But any time you can attack a forward on defense, he's uncomfortable back there. I've been in that position before. You don't want to be skating backwards, you don't want guys attacking you.
"Just try to take advantage of that. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Part of it is lucky bounces. [Patrice Bergeron is] the best defensive player in the league the last 18 years, whatever it's been. He makes a lot of plays, turns a lot of pucks over and sends it the other way."
Video: BOS@WSH: Marchand scores SHG with backhander in 2nd
A Little Puck Luck
The Bruins got a couple of friendly bounces in the first period as Jeremy Lauzon and Anton Blidh both struck for their first goals of the season. Lauzon's tally opened the scoring as his slapper from the point barely trickled through Samsonov just 33 seconds into the game.
Lauzon also finished the night with 25:10 of ice time, 7:32 of which came on the kill.
"It's good for him to get rewarded for that, he's had a few blocked," said Cassidy. "Had one blocked after that, thinking back to that. So, he's got to put that behind him, but he's also got to have some success in those areas for him to grow his game and feel better about his game.
"Good for Lauzy, played hard tonight. I thought him and [Connor Clifton] back there battled really, really hard, had some tough assignments against bigger men and did a terrific job for us."
Blidh, meanwhile, took advantage of a whacky ricochet off the end boards when he corralled a loose puck and put it into an empty net past an unsuspecting Samsonov with 3:58 remaining in the first to give Boston a 2-0 lead. It was his first NHL goal since Dec. 20, 2016.
The 26-year-old was subbing in as the fourth-line left wing for Trent Frederic, who sat out with a non-COVID related illness.
"Nice goal for Anton, looked like he missed a really good chance just before that…I know he was upset with himself," said Cassidy. "He got a fortunate break, but he was in the right place at the right time. I thought he was pursuing pucks well. [Sean] Kuraly skated well, attacked at the net a couple times. [Chris Wagner] probably had more chances than I've seen in a while for him.
"Anytime your fourth line [scores], you're usually in good shape, you get the secondary scoring. Tonight, it was a bonus, and Lauzon got one as well. Some good stuff all around in that regard."
Video: BOS@WSH: Blidh doubles the lead with fluky goal
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