On Sunday night (1:15 a.m. CEST), the 2021 play-offs in the NHL will start with a monster series: Two title favorites will meet with the Washington Capitals and the Boston Bruins.
The play-offs start: Tom Wilson and the Washington Capitals duel with Trent Frederic and the Boston Bruins.
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The start of the play-offs 2021 immediately has a tidbit ready: The series between Capitals and Bruins is likely to be by far the hottest in the Stanley Cup First Round. Already in the regular season the tatters flew between the two teams. 213 penalty minutes (102: 111), 423 checks (228: 195) and 193 blocked shots (101: 92) were counted in the eight clashes and speak for an absolute play-off mentality during the main round. Both teams were able to conquer four wins each, with wafer-thin advantages for Boston due to the goals (26:24) and two extra points due to two defeats after extra time.
Ovechkin & Co. meet a top trio
Even in this play-off series, the little things should make the difference. Both opponents are physically strong, can go fast and have enormous depth in the squad. The quality at the top is also impressive: Washington is sending captain Alex Ovechkin, a highly dangerous sniper and power play expert, Nicklas Bäckström, one of the best passers in this sport and, with Raubein Tom Wilson, a dreaded physical weapon into the race.
With Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, Boston has an equally well-rehearsed top trio that complements each other perfectly, gets under the skin of the opponent and radiates enormous scoring danger. The Capitals followed suit with power forward Anthony Mantha, the Bruins with striker Taylor Hall shortly before the trade deadline.
Goalie-Duell: Vanecek vs. Rask
So who is going to pull this gripping series? For the Caps, the offensive strength (3.36 goals / game, 4th) and a strong power play (24.8 percent, 3rd) speak for the B’s a grueling defense (2.39 goals / game, 4th) and a solid Outnumbered game (86.0 percent, 2nd). The goalkeepers could make the difference. In Washington, Ilya Samsonov, who was supposed to be the starter, had problems getting into the season after suffering from Covid 19. Representative Vitek Vanecek stepped in and did his job surprisingly well, but doubts remain as to whether he will be able to play consistently at a high level in the play-offs. Tuukka Rask has a lot of experience at Boston, but he too missed long stretches of the season due to an injury.
kicker tip: It is difficult to make a prediction because both teams are almost equally strong. Injuries could also play an important role, here the capitals seem to be pre-stressed. The Bruins prevail in seven games (4: 3).
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