The Bruins and Capitals will go at it in the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game 1 is Saturday, May 11 at 7:15pm eastern time following the Preakness. Washington got 2nd in the East division, so they hold home-ice advantage over Boston throughout the series. Currently, the Capitals are resting some key players so they are healthy come Saturday. This list includes star Alex Ovechkin, defenseman John Carlson, and forward T.J. Oshie. So what will the storyline be for the series? It’s definitely worth looking into as Capitals forward Tom Wilson (#43) has been given the attention lately for his misconduct earlier in the season against the Rangers. In the videos below, you’ll see Wilson shoving Rangers Forward Pavel Buchnevich’s (#89) head into the ice and pulling forward Artemi Panarin’s (#10) hair and slamming his head into the ice. Surprisingly, Wilson was not suspended and was fined the maximum amount allowed ($5,000). The result of all of this was a league wide uproar against Wilson because of his reputation of cheap shots throughout his career. The next game against the Rangers started with a bunch of fights and penalties which was a boil over from the night before. The big question is if Wilson’s actions will have any impact on the Boston series and whether or not any Boston players will go out of their way to send a message to Wilson. Either way, look for a physical first round series that could easily go 7 games given how equally matched each team is. This is the premier matchup of all the first round matchups for sure.
Kuzi Sportz 