WASHINGTON – John Carlson scored the tiebreaking goal with 6:35 left, and the Washington Capitals chased goalie Tim Thomas and beat the Boston Bruins 5-3 Friday night after blowing a three-goal lead.
Carlson scored on a slap shot off a pass from Eric Fehr to put Washington up 4-3, and Alex Ovechkin had an empty-net goal in the final minute to clinch it.
Boston had won a franchise-record five straight road games to start the season and had defeated the Capitals twice earlier in a home-and-home series.
After Washington's three-goal second period against Thomas, the Bruins scored three times in a seven-minute span of the third period to pull even and send Washington goalie Michal Neuvirth to the bench.
Michael Ryder started the run by tapping in a rebound with 16:53 remaining, and 55 seconds later Nathan Horton scored his team-high sixth goal to get Boston to 3-2.
Shawn Thornton then put a backhander into the net with 10:09 remaining to tie it and chase Neuvirth, who yielded three goals on five shots during the third period.
Neuvirth was replaced by Braden Holtby, who stopped Boston's final four shots in his NHL debut.
Thomas came in 7-0 with an 0.72 goals against average – including 3-1 and 4-1 wins over Washington. In addition, he hadn't given up more than two goals in a game.
On this night, however, the 36-year-old goalie was rendered vulnerable and unceremoniously pulled by coach Claude Julien. Fortunately for Thomas, Boston's scoring flurry enabled him to avoid his first loss.
Tyler Sloan, Mike Green and Alexander Semin scored in the second period for the Capitals.
The Capitals went up 1-0 in the opening minute of the second period when Sloan gained possession of the puck after a faceoff and sent a blast from atop the right circle past the screened Thomas. It was Sloan's fourth goal in 75 career games and first since Nov. 6, 2009.
Green added to the margin at 7:35. After taking a centering pass from Ovechkin, Green faked a shot, lined himself up between the circles and fired a wrist shot into the back of the net.
Then, during a Boston power play, Semin wrestled the puck away from Patrice Bergeron near center ice and passed it to Green, who pushed it back to Semin on the left side. Semin lifted a shot past Thomas for a 3-0 lead.
Washington outshot Boston 8-3 during a scoreless first period. The Capitals had a two-man advantage for 58 seconds but got off only shot.
NOTES
Thornton played in his 300th career game. … Ovechkin extended his points streak to give games (4 goals, 5 assists). … Washington outshot Boston 39-18.