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"The coaching staff has talked about how he has been the unsung hero this year," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "Scoring 20 goals something he has never done before -- he hasn't always had the same wingers. He has produced this year more than ever and been so reliable defensively."
A 21-year-old veteran of just 21 NHL games, Holtby moved into the Capitals' lineup because of Vokoun's groin injury and a left leg injury to Neuvirth. He played in only seven games this season, but he started five of Washington's final 10 games and finished with a 2.48 goals-against average.
He helped the Capitals kill off six virtually consecutive minutes of a man advantage at the end of the first and the beginning of the second period, along with Boston's 4-on-3 power play later in the second.
"I got a little sloppy with some things, and those are the things I'll need to make improvements on for the next game," he said. "But, mainly, I wasn't there for the boys in overtime and I'll definitely be better for that."
NOTES: The last two times these teams met in the playoffs, the winner went on to reach the Stanley Cup finals. The Bruins made it in 1990, and the Capitals in 1998. ... Washington's Dale Hunter coached his first NHL playoff game tonight. As a player, Hunter had 42 goals and 76 assists with 729 penalty minutes and 23 fighting majors in 186 career playoff games with Quebec, Washington and Colorado. ... The NCAA champion Boston College hockey team was honored during a break in the first period. ... The Capitals, the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, did not clinch a playoff berth until the final week of the season. They beat Boston in three of their four meetings this season, including both visits to TD Garden.
[Associated Press;
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