BOSTON — The Bruins took the NHL’s best team to overtime Saturday night but were unable to pull off a second consecutive upset at TD Garden.
Matt Niskanen scored 2:36 into the extra session to give the Washington Capitals a hard-fought 2-1 win.
Patrice Bergeron scored the lone goal for Boston in the loss, which came two days after the Bruins took down the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Niskanen’s shot whizzed past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, who stopped 32 shots in a losing effort. Two points would have been huge for the Bruins, but taking three of a possible four from teams of the Blackhawks’ and Capitals’ caliber is an impressive achievement in its own right.
MILLER HURT
The Bruins lost one-half of their top defensive pairing early in the second period when Alex Ovechkin leveled Kevan Miller into the boards with an illegal hit from behind. Miller went down in a heap and quickly exited down the tunnel, appearing to favor his surgically repaired right shoulder as he did so.
Ovechkin was given a five-minute boarding major but was not ejected for the hit. Bruins winger Brad Marchand also spent two minutes in the box on a roughing call for retaliating against the Capitals star.
The Bruins did not score on the ensuing power play — which included 1:50 of 5-on-3 time after Tom Wilson was whistled for interference — and Ovechkin helped set up Karl Alzner for Washington’s first goal less than two minutes after it expired, tying the game at 1-1.
Boston later announced Miller was unlikely to return with an upper body injury. He did not, logging 8:26 of ice time in the game.
FIRST LINE FLOW
The Marchand-Bergeron-Lee Stempniak continued to click, with the three forwards teaming up to produce the game’s first goal at the 7:11 mark of the first period. Bergeron finished the job, giving him four goals in his last five games.
Marchand and Stempniak picked up assists, and Miller also helped make the goal happen with a nice play to keep the puck in the offensive zone. The goal pushed Bergeron past Terry O’Reilly and into sole possession of eighth place on the Bruins’ all-time scoring list.
Some strong netminding by Tuukka Rask kept Washington off the board in the opening frame, and Adam McQuaid provided the period’s other highlight when the big blueliner pounded Wilson in his third fight of the season.
THE SLUMP CONTINUES
Torey Krug came this close to snapping his agonizing goal slump, which now sits at 41 games.
The defenseman, who has not lit the lamp since Dec. 5, appeared to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead early in the second when he hammered the rebound of a David Pastrnak shot past Capitals goalie Philipp Grubauer.
Washington challenged the play, however, and referees determined that Loui Eriksson had been offside entering the zone, wiping away the goal and adding yet another setback to what’s been a frustrating season for Krug.
UP NEXT
The Bruins now head to the Sunshine State for a crucial Atlantic Division back-to-back. Up first is a visit to the Florida Panthers on Monday night, followed by trip to Tampa Bay on Tuesday to take on the Lightning.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
