Capitals vs. Bruins: What Both Teams Must Do to Win Game 2

Chris Kelly's overtime goal gave the Boston Bruins a narrow Game 1 victory over the Washington Capitals in a battle that set the tone for what should be a physical, low-scoring series the rest of the way.

These two teams received great performances from their respective goaltenders on Thursday and played a tremendous game defensively.

Even though this is a battle between the No. 2 and 7 seeds in the Eastern Conference, there is not a lot of difference in talent between the two teams. 

Let's look at three things each team must do to win Game 2 on Saturday afternoon in Boston.

All quotes obtained first hand.

Braden Holtby Must Dominate Again

The Bruins defense makes it very hard to earn quality scoring chances because they are so well positioned and always play with a physical edge.

Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby had to stand on his head in Game 1 for Washington to have a chance to steal the game. In his first career playoff game, Holtby rose to the challenge and gave one of his best performances as a pro.

"Well I think he played a hell of a game," said Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin of Holtby's play in Game 1. "Most of the time he kept us in the game and I think he was nervous, but after the first shot you could see he was calm and he was on his roll."

Bruins forward Brad Marchand was also impressed with Holtby's performance.

"…In playoffs you got a young guy come up like that, there’s not really a lot of pressure on him so they usually play very well," said Marchand. "He did that tonight, he made a lot of big saves at the right times and you got to give him credit."

Holtby looked real comfortable in net and was very calm when the Bruins entered the attacking zone and peppered him with shots. He was very good on the penalty kill and performed like a veteran netminder.

The Capitals are going to need him to play like this for the rest of the series given the struggles the team's offense had scoring goals in Game 1.

Capitals Must Make Tim Thomas Work More

Not until the third period in Game 1 was Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas consistently challenged throughout the course of a full period.

After being out shot by a considerable margin through two periods, the Capitals out-shot the Bruins 9-3 in a third period in which they dominated.

The Capitals were having a lot of trouble getting shots on goal in the first two periods and in doing so, they forced Holtby to keep them in the game.

Luckily for Washington, Holtby was fantastic, but you cannot expect a young goaltender to stand on his head consistently in his first career playoff series.

"We have to attack more nets," said Capitals forward Brooks Laich. "Halfway through the second we were still stuck at five shots." "We need to get more shots on net but in the third period we did a better job of that. Keep getting pucks deep, try and wear down their defensemen and attack more nets."

The Capitals have to find more creative ways to attack the Bruins because trying to win a 1-0 or 2-1 kind of game isn't to their advantage when you consider Boston's goaltending advantage in this series.

Alexander Ovechkin Must Continue to Be Physical

Capitals star forward Alexander Ovechkin played a phenomenal game on Thursday and really set the tone physically for his team.

He was throwing his weight around against the Bruins' top defensive pairing of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg and just brought tremendous energy to his team.

This is exactly the kind style of play that Ovechkin needs to bring to the ice throughout the series. He's at his best when he's wreaking havoc in all three zones with his strength and magnificent offensive abilities.

Going up against a player like Chara is a difficult challenge for all players, but Capitals coach Dale Hunter was proud of his captain's performance.

"He was [playing physical]," said Hunter. "They were playing tight on him and they had the Bergeron line against them and Zdeno [Chara]. He battled. That’s all you want from your players is to battle. He battled hard."

Ovechkin will have be just as physical in Game 2 because if he gets bullied around by Chara and Seidenberg, the Capitals have no shot at winning this series.

Bruins Must Continue to Match Capitals' Skill with Physical Play

The Bruins are at the top of their game when they are playing the physical brand of hockey that makes them extremely tough to play against, and for the most part, they did that in Game 1.

Against a Capitals team that has a ton of skilled forwards capable of scoring goals, the Bruins must continue to finish their checks and put a body on the Capitals at all times.

"They have a ton of skill and the way to kind of slow them down is to be physical and we have a physical team and when we’re playing that way, we’re playing our best hockey," said Bruins forward Brad Marchand. "It’s something we want to establish early and continue to build off it."

Boston has to set the tone early on in Game 2 and wear down the Capitals with their size and strength. We saw last year in the playoffs how the Bruins' physical play can wear down a team over the course of a series, and that's the same plan the team must have against the Capitals this season.

The 3rd Line Must Continue to Contribute Offensively

The chemistry of the Bruins' third line of Benoit Pouliot, Chris Kelly and Brian Rolston has been exceptional in recent weeks, and their offensive production will be very important to the team's success this postseason.

In Game 1, Kelly's goal was the difference, but the third line's performance was excellent throughout the night.

"I thought we played really well tonight," said Rolston. "Even early, we had some really good opportunities, we were really buzzing.

"I thought Benny was flying tonight, I think we just play off each other real well and obviously it takes a whole team to win and hopefully we can keep chipping in and playing solid defensively and I thought we had a solid game tonight. I think our whole game did."

Boston will need their third line to continue to excel in all three zones because head coach Claude Julien loves to maximize the depth of his team in order to keep the players fresh throughout the game.

Bruins Must Keep Pressure off Tim Thomas

Tim Thomas did not have to work very hard in the first two periods of Game 1 because the Bruins' defensive structure was so strong.

The Bruins gave up very few chances and did a good job of being well positioned to combat the speed and skill of the Capitals forwards.

"We played a very good defensive game today," said Thomas. "I can’t remember an odd-man rush off hand, certainly no breakaways. The only—most of the good opportunities we gave up came from their power play which is a very good power play."

Boston must continue to make it difficult for Washington to enter the attacking zone and set up their offense. The less Thomas has to work in the first round, the less fatigued he will be in the second round should the Bruins advance.

Follow @NicholasGoss35

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and covered the team first hand throughout the season. He was also the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.