Boston, MA— In a showdown between two of the best teams in the East division, the Boston Bruins got the better of the Washington Capitals 6-3.
The Bruins forced a penalty 35 seconds in but could not beat goaltender Vitek Vanecek.
The game was physical throughout, with two 4-minute penalties on Boston’s Connor Clifton. Alexander Ovechkin had three chances on the first powerplay but Tuuka Rask shut him and the Capitals down.
Suddenly, the Bruins scored a short-handed goal. Brad Marchand attacked the offensive zone, and Patrice Bergeron faked out Vanecek for the short-handed goal. The Bruins have 8 shorthanded goals this season, the most in the NHL.
Less than two minutes later, David Krejci scored to go up 2-0. Clifton made a great pass from an odd angle, and Krejci finished it. With 10 seconds left in the first period, T.J. Oshie scored. Oshie started in the defensive zone and snagged the rebound from a Nicklas Backstrom shot.
Clifton was called for another 4-minute penalty, and Oshie capitalized. Oshie scored top shelf in the slot. Anthony Mantha scored one minute later, sniping it past Rask’s blocker. Bruins bounce back with Marchand burying the backhander.
Right after a powerplay ends, Krejci scores in front of the net. Then Bergeron scored on a two on one from Pasternak to make it 5-3. Ovechkin could not get past Rask, who shut him down on a breakaway and stopped Lars Eller on the rebound.
The physicality reached a peak when Garnet Hathaway was ejected for a high check. Capitals killed the five-minute major by stopping the Bruins from even getting set up. The Capitals then pulled their goalie with two minutes left, and Marchand put the game out of reach.
After a great defensive play by David Pasternak, Marchand scores the empty netter to ice the game.
The story for the Bruins was their top line. Pasternak, Bergeron, and Marchand all got points, with Pasternak netting 3 assists and Bergeron and Marchand scoring twice.
The Capitals still stand atop the MassMutual East division, but Boston is only 6 points behind them in fourth place. They face off one more time in the last game of the season on May 11th.
Up Next
Bruins @ Buffalo Sabres, Tuesday, April 20, KeyBank Center
Capitals @ New York Islanders, Thursday, April 22, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
