Tim Thomas and the No. 2 seeded Boston Bruins host Alex Ovechkin and the No. 7 seeded Washington Capitals in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs at 7:30 p.m. EST on Monday night at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Below is a live blog with score updates and analysis for Monday night's game.
END OF THIRD PERIOD: Bruins win 4-3 over the Capitals.
18:07 INTO THIRD PERIOD: After another scrum on the ice that resulted in a couple more people entering each of the respective penalty boxes, Zdeno Chara fired a shot from the right side through a screen and put it past Holtby to give the Bruins a 4-3 lead.
14:00 INTO THIRD PERIOD: After the Bruins killed off an important penalty, Capitals forward Brooks Laich completely caught the defense off guard and got a breakaway, going top shelf on a helpless Tim Thomas to tie the game 3-3. Bruins looked to be totally asleep on that play.
10:17 INTO THIRD PERIOD: Dennis Seidenberg gets called for roughing after his stick gets up high on Washington. The Capitals already have a power play goal this game, and this could prove to be a crucial opportunity for them to tie the game.
8:25 INTO THIRD PERIOD: Game play continues to heat up, as do the players' tempers after the whistles. Brad Marchand had a tough moment after being slashed in the groin by Jason Chimera. Just a couple minutes later, captain Zdeno Chara had his helmet knocked off after being hit with a high stick. He looks to be okay though.
1:02 INTO THIRD PERIOD: Brian Rolston picked up a rebound and flipped it past Holtby to give the Bruins the first lead of the game, 3-2.
END OF SECOND PERIOD: Tim Thomas made the save of the night so far, stoning Jay Beagle in front of the net, point blank, with just minutes to go in the second period. Things continued to be chippy in the game, and Lucic was sent to the penalty box again with Brooks Laich midway through on a neutral zone faceoff. At the end of two periods, the game remains tied, 2-2.
9:38 INTO SECOND PERIOD: It took a couple of games, but the Bruins finally were able to put two goals together in one game. This time it was courtesy of Daniel Paille who put in a rebound right in front of the net. The Bruins should take note of that and continue to create plays like that. Nathan Horton was notorious for those kinds of goals and that's what made him so effective. 2-2 tie game.
5:18 INTO SECOND PERIOD: Rich Peverley was caught hooking and was sent to the sin bin for it. But not long after, the Capitals followed right behind, sending Backstrom to the penalty box for tripping. Both teams will play 4-on-4 for just over a minute.
:48 INTO SECOND PERIOD: Just 35 seconds into the second period, Rich Peverley came out and put one past the seemingly impenetrable Holtby, tying the game at 1-1. However, Alexander Ovechkin came back 13 seconds after that and put it under the glove of Thomas to put them back up again 2-1.
END OF FIRST PERIOD: Boston had their second power play opportunity of the period, with just over two minutes to go in the period, but they were unsuccessful and have not put a power-play goal into the net all series. The frustration was clearly mounting, and, at the end of the period, after the buzzer sounded, a scrum broke out between the lines. Milan Lucic went after Nicklas Backstrom and Chara made it a point to remove Mike Green from the center of it. Braden Holtby stopped all eight shots he faced, while Tim Thomas stopped 7-of-8.
16:00 IN FIRST PERIOD: Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was called for roughing with just under six minutes to go in the period, and it cost his team. Alexander Semin took a shot from the slot and put one past Tim Thomas with the extra-man advantage. 1-0 Capitals.
11:33 IN FIRST PERIOD: Milan Lucic and Rich Peverley skated through the zone with a 2-on-1 opportunity, but Lucic's shot was promptly stopped by Holtby. Still 0-0 in the first.
6:07 IN FIRST PERIOD: Bruins head coach Claude Julien has mixed the top lines around a bit. He has Milan Lucic and Rich Peverley with Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand with David Krejci. The combinations haven't yielded much this period so far, and, even with a power play opportunity, the Bruins have just two shots on net.
1:14 IN FIRST PERIOD: The Bruins are on their first power play as Semin gets called for tripping and heads to the box. The Bruins are 0-for-6 on the power play so far this series.
PREGAME: The series is tied 1-1 going into tonight's game in Washington, D.C. In the regular season, the Bruins were 1-1 in the Nation's capital. So far this post season, the B's have only scored twice--a much different story than their regular season, where the top five players in plus/minus category in the League come from the Bruins. Enjoy Game 3!
For everything Bruins related, check out Stanley Cup Of Chowder. For more news, analysis, and discussion on Capitals hockey, head to Japers' Rink. You can also head over to the SB Nation NHL hub page for more on hockey news as the playoffs begin.