(Welcome to the TD Garden for today's Game 5 match-up between the Boston Bruins and visiting Washington Capitals.)

As 45 unimpressive shots weren't enough to down Braden Holtby and the Caps in Game 4 on Thursday, the first round heavyweight tilt of a series between the B's and Caps shifts to Boston for a pivotal Game 5 showdown on Garden ice. And to put it simply, the Bruins have to be better.

Beginning with some major line changes, the Bruins will trudge out a new-look lineup for this one, led by the bump up to the top line for Brian Rolston. The 39-year-old forward, who leads all B's skaters with three points in four games in the playoffs, will move up with David Krejci and Milan Lucic. The moves continue with the demotion down to the third line for Tyler Seguin, and Brad Marchand's bump down to the fourth line.

We'll see how long those stick...

In net, the Bruins give the nod to Tim Thomas once again. Thomas has been a wall for Boston in this series, with Alexander Semin's unstoppable blast ultimately dooming him in Game 4. He'll be opposed by the 22-year-old Holtby, who enters play with a .953 save-percentage.

First Period

20:00 - Interesting: Rolston takes the face-off to begin the day while Krejci lines up on the wing. See if that lasts.

17:30 - Hey, that seemed necessary. John Carlson can't put the brakes on, and he glides into Thomas. Bruins going on the power-play. The Bruins are 0-for-12 on the man-advantage in the playoffs.

16:45 - Zdeno Chara just obliterates the post with a one-timer. No dice.

15:10 - Flurry in front of the net but Thomas hangs on.

11:00 - Campbell and Jay Beagle jousting at the face-off dot. Beagle gets the boot. The dude's been a pain in the ass for Boston all series long.

9:40 - Troy Brouwer takes a poke at Danny Paille's leg, and that irritates the Boston winger as they trade slashes. They'll get matching minors. Four-on-four for two minutes.

8:19 - OK, that's to be expected. Chara and Alexander Ovechkin go at it, but when things get physical in front of the net, Ovechkin doesn't want to engage but Chara keeps going at him. Bad move.

6:39 - Paille on a shorthanded breakaway. Hits iron. Holtby with five saves, post with two.

4:18 - Bruins are going back to the power-play. Roman Hamrlik going off this time.

2:19 - Tons of shots, mainly from the point, but the Bruins can't push one through there.

1:15 - Holy Thomas! The 38-year-old with a monstrous save on Ovechkin. He looked down and out on that play.

:30 - Chimera and Chara tangled in the corner. Chimera hits the 6-foot-9 captain with an elbow. Chara goes down for a few seconds, may have been lobbying for a call there, but I'm not sure.

Thoughts after 20...

A great period of hockey is in the books, and the Bruins have nothin' to show for their efforts. That's frustrating, sure, but the Bruins really appear to have brought the intensity for this one. Credit to the Caps, too, as they've continued to be the fearless shot-blockers I never thought they were.

Worth noting: The Bruins have not had five one-goal decisions since 1988 against the Montreal Canadiens. Goodness.

Second Period

17:30 - Chara with some words for the Washington bench on his way off. He went out of his way to make that happen.

14:46 - Weasel play from Brouwer continues. Willing to lay down on Johnny Boychuk, give him shots to the back of the head as they're tangled, but won't fight Boston's top-four defensemen when he gets to his feet. They'll have matching minors.

13:00 - Physical exchange between Chara and Ovechkin once again. These guys seem like best friends.

12:45 - Krejci with the wide-open cage, but can't bank it home. And the woes continue.

10:42 - Thomas puts an end to the Washington surge.

9:00 - The Bruins are getting absolutely buried with the fourth line and third pairing out there at the same time. Can't get the puck out of their zone.

8:44 - And the Caps score. With Joe Corvo down and out, it became a 5-on-4 of sorts for the Caps, and Alexander Semin buries it for a goal in his third straight game. 1-0 Caps.

8:44 - Corvo needs help down the tunnel, and that's not good.

8:30 - Now, to be the boy that cried wolf, here you go: The play was blown dead within seconds of Dennis Wideman going down in Washington. For Corvo? Not the case. Probably, with the way this game is being played, should've stayed down.

5:33 - And the hits keep on comin'. On a softie of the year, Beagle makes it 2-0 in favor of the Caps. Dude's been killing the Bruins all series long.

5:00 - No Bergeron on the bench for Boston right now, either. Yikes.

2:39 - German-born engineering! Dennis Seidenberg sneaks in, and pots one. That cuts the Washington lead in half, and that's huge.

2:11 - Make it two! Brad Marchand pokes it through for his first goal of the playoffs, and we have a tied game.

2:00 - This place is deafening right now. My goodness.

1:30 - It all begins with Shawn Thornton, in my opinion. The dude comes out for a shift, tries to hit and fight everything that moves, and then the Bruins score two goals. Ole' No. 22 brought the intensity up to an insane level here at the Garden.

Thoughts after 40...

Hey, ready for a crazy third period? Oh man, this should be a dandy finish in Boston. Shots are almost the same, Boston with 24 and the Caps with 23, goals are the same, and the intensity in this one could literally not be any higher. Unreal atmosphere here at the Garden.

Fun stats through two? After winning just three of eight face-offs in the first period, Bergeron won seven of the eight in the second frame. And for the Caps, Dennis Wideman has been on the ice for all seven of the Bruins' five-on-five goals in the series.

Third Period

19:30 - Seguin skating with Krejci and Lucic to begin the third.

16:50 - "Holt-by" chants are loud and clear.

16:39 - Weak-side rebound, and it's 3-2 in favor of the Caps. Mike Knuble bangs it home. Yikes. Not a pretty goal, but the Caps will take 'em.

15:00 - Tons of pressure from the Bruins' top-line, but they can't bury it. Seguin denied by a sprawling Holtby. The 20-year-old's been a ghost in this series, and he's gotta get more behind that shot.

12:30 - Wideman off for crosschecking Marchand up high. B's going on the power-play.

11:13 - Bomb. Boychuk. All tied up. Seidenberg with the great cross-point dish to Boychuk. Marchand gets the secondary assist.

8:00 - Still no Bergeron in quite a while for Boston.

6:07 - Kelly centering the Bergeron line still. But he's back out there now.

4:44 - Seguin literally cannot get a bounce to go his way. Nearly banks it in, but can't get a hold of it. Holtby stops the Andrew Ference slapper through traffic, and it's still 3-3.

2:50 - Benoit Pouliot off for slashing Nicklas Backstrom. That is not a penalty you call in the waning moments of a tied game. Wow.

1:27 - And there's the tie-breaker. Brouwer waltzes in, and beats Thomas glove-side. Strange to see the defense break down so badly at that moment. Soft goal from Thomas, too. He's been anything but sharp.

43.8 - Boston takes their timeout. Empty net.

0.0 - Game over. Caps hang on.

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