Bruins drop preseason finale to Caps in OT

The preseason did not end the way the Bruins would have liked, but they got an idea that one of their big question marks going into the season will be answered in the affirmative.

Charlie Coyle, playing his first game of the preseason, looked comfortable in the second-line center role, notching a goal and an assist.

But Anthony Mantha scored a 2-on-1 goal between Linus Ullmark’s pads in overtime to lift the Capitals to a 4-3 victory in the B’s preseason finale at the Garden on Wednesday.

Ullmark was looking for a bounce-back game after his overtime gaffe cost him his previous start against the Rangers. He was better on Wednesday, stopping 26 of 30 shots, but Ullmark is still not where his coach would like him to be just yet.

“He’s just got to tighten up. Some pucks are finding their way through. For a big man, that will be a challenge. A lot of goalies are judged that way. Are they beat with good shots or are they getting through,” said Cassidy. “I think he was better but he’s going to need more reps.”

Ullmark accentuated the positive: “A step in the right direction. I felt much better. Things felt more natural out there.”

Still, with no more preseason games left, it’s hard to imagine Ullmark getting his game up to speed enough so that he’d get the opening-night start over Jeremy Swayman on Oct. 16. We shall see.

The B’s found themselves in penalty trouble (seven minors) most of the night and it finally cost them with 6:31 left in regulation and Charlie McAvoy serving a pair of coincidental minors. On the first kill, the Caps forged ahead when T.J. Oshie tipped home an Alex Ovechkin pass to give the Caps a 3-2 lead.

But after the B’s killed off the second McAvoy minor, they evened the score on a pretty play by Erik Haula and David Pastrnak. Haula fired a lead pass for Pastrnak off the end boards that bounced perfectly to Pastrnak on the right wing. Pastrnak first faked the slapper, pulled it back to make goalie Vitek Vanecek open his pads and he slipped the puck through the five-hole with 3:29 left in regulation.

The B’s earned a late regulation power play, but they could not cash in and it went to overtime, where the Caps took advantage of both Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand getting caught deep in the Washington zone and they cashed in on the ensuing odd-man break for the goal.

The only regular not to have played in any of the first five preseason games was Coyle, coming off knee surgery in the summer. And Coyle is expected to play a vital role for the B’s as the replacement for David Krejci on the second line between Taylor Hall and Craig Smith, so his play is of utmost importance to the B’s.

Early returns were strong. Coyle scored the lone first-period goal at 7:08. Changing on for Hall, Marchand wheeled into the offensive zone and fired a shot from the middle of the ice that went off Smith and dropped down for Coyle at the post. Coyle tried to corral it with his left skate and it nudged over the goal line before he got his stick blade on it. It was reviewed and the refs allowed it to stand.

Coyle also showed a little bit of chemistry with Hall, who later in the period made a pretty backhand pass to Coyle at the side of the net but Vanecek was able to get over to make the save.

“He looks more fluid,” said Cassidy of Coyle. “There were some times last year where he didn’t look himself. We talked to him and he’s a hockey player, so he’ll say, ‘I’m OK.’ And the medical staff would say, and well, you know now, he had a knee issue and he said he’s going to have to play through it. … I think more games will show you his pace can get back up there. Tonight’s only one game, but it’s a good start for him.”

Said Coyle: “It’s still a work in progress. I’ve been trying to do everything I can to have the strength and power in my stride with the limited time I’ve had. There’s definitely a ways to go.”

The B’s faced a 5-on-3 for 1:06 in the first period with Mike Reilly and Nick Foligno both in the box and were able to kill it off by outworking the Capitals for loose pucks.

The Caps woke up in the second period and took a lead with two goals in 56 seconds. Evgeny Kuznetsov tied it up when Washington kept the B’s fourth line hemmed in its own zone again. With players clustered in front of the net, Kuznetsov had a rebound off an Ovechkin shot come right out to him and he potted it easily.

Then at 7:05, Reilly and Hall coughed up the puck at the Washington blue line and it turned into a Tom Wilson breakaway. Wilson made a simple move to his backhand and beat Ullmark between the pads for a 2-1 lead.

The B’s tied it up at 13:17 and, again, Coyle was in the middle of it. He won a defensive zone draw cleanly and later made a perfect blue line to blue line pass to Smith on the right wing. Smith fired a shot that Vanecek thought he had in his glove, but it dropped to the ice and Hall swooped in to chip it home.

That set up the eventful third and overtime.