The Boston Bruins' 2012 Stanley Cup run began the same way their 2011 Stanley Cup run ended: with a shutout performance from Tim Thomas, who made 17 saves in the Bruins 1-0 overtime win over the Washington Capitals in game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
The game-winner was scored by Chris Kelly, who streaked down the wing and beat rookie goaltender Braden Holtby with a slapshot high to the far side just 1:18 into overtime after a Thomas save and a nice passing play by the B's:
Thomas said after the game that he felt good about Kelly's shot because "he's been shooting some bombs on me in practice the last couple of days."
It's a game the Capitals could have won. Despite being outshot 30 to 17, Holtby kept the them in it by stopping all 29 shots through regulation. For a team concerned about their goaltending situation, forced to give Holtby his first career playoff start with both Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth unavailable to play due to lower-body injuries, the guy in goal was the least of their concerns.
[ Video: David Krejci crushed by pane of glass during celebration ]
It was the skaters the Caps will have to worry about heading into game 2. 17 shots simply doesn't cut it, and that number flatters the Washington's shot creation. They were outshot 26-7, and lucky to have a chance to win this one at all.
Then they squandered what would have been a stolen game from Holtby.
Washington will only go as far as Alex Ovechkin can carry them, and the Capitals' captain had only 1 shot in 17:34 of icetime, battling Zdeno Chara.
Ironically, it was a shot by a winger streaking down the right side that won this game. That's Ovechkin's shot; the Capitals would have preferred he was the one taking it.
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