“It was high,’’ Wideman acknowledged of his stick. “It just [stinks] that it worked out that way and end ed up being a penalty they won the hockey game on after we played so well and worked so hard for the whole game.’’
But at a time when the Bruins will accept any movement up the Eastern Conference standings, they were satisfied with gaining 1 point. The seventh-place Bruins have 85 points, 3 more than the ninth-place Rangers, who visit Buffalo tonight. The Bruins can only be passed tonight by Philadelphia. The eighth-place Flyers (84 points) play Toronto.
The Bruins recorded the point against the NHL’s most flammable offense without three regular defensemen: Dennis Seidenberg (wrist), Mark Stuart (pinkie), and Andrew Ference (groin).
“That was a good point,’’ Wideman said. “Obviously they’re a great team and even better at home. I thought we did a real good job to get a point. But when you have an effort like that, you always hope to pull a deuce out of it.’’
Laich’s goal was the only Washington score that wasn’t reviewed. In the first period, Nicklas Backstrom took a pass from Alex Ovechkin and threaded a shot under Rask’s left arm. The goaltender thought he had it, only to feel the puck squirt out and roll toward the goal line. As the on-edge puck tumbled in, Wideman stopped its progress with his backhand, but referee Bill McCreary ruled it a goal at 7:36, giving the Capitals a 1-0 lead.
Wideman disagreed.
“I don’t think it was in,’’ said Wideman. “Was there a problem with the replay or something? I don’t think it totally crossed the line. It was one of those ones where it was so close. It could have gone either way. I think it was one of those ones where if it was no call on the ice or he waved it off on the ice, then it would have been no goal. I don’t know. I don’t think it crossed all the way.’’
A lengthy review upheld McCreary’s call.
