Final, Bruins 4-2
The Boston Bruins have won the Atlantic Division title, while also extending their point streak to 15 games (14-0-1). Jarome Iginla (twice), Patrice Bergeron (power-play) and Carl Soderberg (power-play) scored for Boston. Chad Johnson made 31 saves for his 17th win of the season.
Boston leads the Eastern Conference by nine points over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The B’s next game is Sunday in Philadelphia against the Flyers.
Third period, 19:05, Bruins 3-1: Evgeny Kuznetsov scores Washington’s second goal, but it’s too little too late.
Third period, 18:17, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins appear headed for another victory. They are still controlling play and Washington is having difficulties generating quality scoring chances. Most of its shots are coming from the outside.
Third period, 13:17, Bruins 3-1:  A shot from Dougie Hamilton at the point is stopped by Braden  Holtby, but the puck is loose in the crease and Patrice Bergeron pounces on it for the goal. It’s his 26th goal of the season and the second power-play goal for Boston in this game.
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The Bruins lead 4-1.
Third period, 11:41, Bruins 3-1: Alex Ovechkin was assessed a minor penalty for charging Loui Eriksson on that hit. Boston goes back to the power play.
Third period, 7:35, Bruins 3-1: Boston has killed off the penalty and we’re back to even strength.
Shortly after the penalty kill, Alex Ovechkin put a huge open-ice hit on Loui Eriksson, but the Bruins forward appears to be OK. Kevan Miller has also returned to the B’s bench after going to the locker room favoring his left arm.
Third period, 7:01, Bruins 3-1: The Capitals are back on the power play after Andrej Meszaros was given a penalty for holding the stick. They are 0-2 so far today. B’s defenseman Kevan Miller just went down the tunnel to the locker room favoring his left arm.
Third period, 6:33, Bruins 3-1: The Capitals are making a hard push to get back into this game. Jason Chimera’s line just spent over a minute in the Bruins’ zone but Chad Johnson made a few nice saves. The Verizon Center crowd is doing all it can to energize the home team.
Third period, 3:50, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins nearly scored again on the power play but they couldn’t fire the puck home when it was bouncing in front of the crease. Boston registered two shots with the man-advantage and we’re back to 5-on-5.
Third period, 1:16, Bruins 3-1: Jason Chimera slashes Johnny Boychuk and the Bruins are going back on the power play. They are 1-for-2 with the extra man in this game.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 3-1: We’re underway in the final period.
End of Second Period, Bruins 3-1
Jason Chimera scored with 10 seconds left in the period to get the Capitals on the scoreboard and some much-needed energy.
Second Period, 14:30, Bruins 3-0: Boston is still attacking the Capitals zone and dominating possession. Holtby just made a phenomenal point- blank save on Reilly Smith. The Bruins have a 24-16 shot edge and are winning almost every physical battle.
Second period, 8:16, Bruins 3-0: Jarome Iginla has scored his second goal of the game and his 30th of the season. He converted on a rebound off his original shot. This marks his 12th 30-goal season. Iginla is tied with Montreal Canadiens legend Guy LaFleur for 24th all-time in goals scored (560).
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Here’s a replay of Iginla’s second goal.
Second period, 7:35, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins have taken a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal from Carl Soderberg. Patrice Bergeron’s shot in the slot was deflected by Soderberg and past Holtby. The Swedish forward was parked right at the top of the crease. It’s his 15th goal of the season.
Here’s a replay:
Second period, 6:37, Bruins 1-0: Milan Lucic explodes into the attacking zone and Torey Krug draws a hooking penalty on Eric Fehr by driving hard to the net on the 2-on-1 break. The Bruins will get their second power play. They are 0-for-1 so far.
Second period, 4:48, Bruins 1-0: Daniel Paille nearly has a breakaway but Capitals rookie forward Tom Wilson breaks up the play with a diving poke check. On the ensuring rush up ice, Chad Johnson makes a good pad save and covers the puck for a face-off.
Here’s a replay of Iginla’s goal.
Second period, 2:48, Bruins 1-0: Right after Soderberg’s penalty expired, David Krejci fed a sweet saucer pass to Jarome Iginla who skated all alone into the attacking zone and beat Braden Holtby with a beautiful wrist shot. It’s his team-leading 29th goal of the season.
The Bruins lead 1-0, and they are 38-5-1 when scoring first.
On the next shift after Iginla’s goal, there was a scrum in the corner to the left of Holtby. No penalties were called.
Second period, 2:38, 0-0: Boston kills off the penalty.
Second period, 0:53, 0-0: Carl Soderberg has taken a minor penalty for slashing and the Capitals will get their second power play of the game. They are 0-for-1 so far.
Second period, 0:01, 0-0: We’re back for period two.
End of First Period, 0-0: Here are some first-period stats:
Shots: Boston 15-9
Hits: Washington 11-9
Faceoffs: Boston 12-5
Takeaways: Washington 6-5
Power-play: Both 0-for-1
End of First Period, 0-0: The Bruins dominated possession and out shot the Capitals 15-9, but the two teams head to the first intermission scoreless. Braden Holtby made 15 saves in a fantastic first-period performance in net.
First period, 18:00, 0-0: Chad Johnson makes two right-pad saves from shots at the point and Johnny Boychuk clears the puck as the Capitals power-play ends.
Here’s a look at the Bergeron penalty.
First period, 15:48, 0-0:Â Patrice Bergeron tripped Alex Ovechkin in the neutral zone and the Capitals will get their first power-play opportunity.
First period, 14:23, 0-0: Chris Kelly is robbed by Braden Holtby on a shot from the top of the crease. Kelly took a beautiful centering feed from Carl Soderberg at the goal line to Holtby’s left, but the Caps goalie stood tall. He’s already made 13 saves.
Photo via Twitter/@TedStarkey
First period, 13:20, 0-0: The Bruins fourth line spends a lot of time in the offensive zone and registers three good shots on goal. Boston is still spending a ton of time in the Capitals zone, but Holtby has been really sharp in the opening period.
First period, 10:43, 0-0: Washington kills off the penalty and we’re back to even strength.
First period, 8:33, 0-0: John Erskine cleared the puck out of his own zone and it goes over the glass for a delay of game penalty. The Bruins are about to begin their first power play of the day. Boston ranks 6th in power-play success, and Washington’s penalty kill is 18th.
First period, 7:21, 0-0: David Krejci fires a pass behind the net to Lucic at the top of the crease, but Braden Holtby makes a tremendous save. Boston has an 8-2 shot advantage so far.
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First period, 6:10, 0-0: Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin leads the NHL with 48 goals scored, but his defense is suspect. Photo via Twitter/@PeteBlackburn.
First Period, 4:43, 0-0: Zdeno Chara fires a shot from the point and David Krejci gets a stick on it for a deflection, but Braden Holtby makes a nice pad save and the Capitals clear the zone.
First Period, 4:15, 0-0: The Bruins’ fourth line forces a turnover from Washington d-man Mike Green in the Capitals’ zone but Boston is unable to register a quality scoring chance. The B’s are controlling possession early on. The Bruins have allowed only two first-period goals in their last 12 games.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: We’re underway in Washington!
12:30 p.m.: Defenseman Corey Potter, winger Jordan Caron and defenseman Matt Bartkowski are scratches for Boston.
12:10 p.m.:The Boston Bruins can clinch their first Atlantic Division title with a point against the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon or a Buffalo Sabres victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning later in the evening.
Boston is also aiming to extend its point streak to 15 games after an impressive 3-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden on Thursday.
The Capitals will give the Bruins a stiff test Saturday because Washington is still fighting for a wild card playoff spot. Washington enters Saturday’s games in a four-way tie for the two wild card berths with Toronto, Detroit and Columbus, but the Capitals are third in the tiebreakers at the moment.
Check back to this blog at 12:30 p.m. for live updates, the score, highlights and analysis from Bruins-Capitals in Washington D.C.
