BOSTON — All good things must come to end, just ask the Bruins.
Boston had its five-game win streak snapped Thursday night by the Washington Capitals when they lost 4-2 at TD Garden. But it certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort.
The B’s looked like a much different squad than Opening Night when the Caps dismantled Boston 7-0, as the Bruins outshot the visitors 41-22. But it was Braden Holtby who continued to be a nuisance for the Bruins, turning away the first 17 shots en route to a 39-save night.
Ryan Donato and David Krejci each scored for the Bruins, while Jakub Vrana, Alex Ovechkin (twice) and Nicklas Backstrom accounted Washington’s tallies.
With the loss, the Bruins slipped to 25-15-4, while the Capitals climbed to 27-12-4.
Here’s how it all went down:
B’S DOMINATE FIRST, CAN’T CAPITALIZE
It was all Bruins in the opening period, except on the scoreboard.
Boston had a chance to go up early after Jonas Siegenthaler was whistled for holding Brad Marchand, but the B’s couldn’t capitalize on the man advantage despite having prime scoring chances that Holtby turned away.
The Caps were outshot for much of the period, but Vrana got the visitors on the board first after he slipped past John Moore and Torey Krug and received a nice feed from T.J. Oshie. The Capitals winger went on the breakaway and beat Halak to give Washington the 1-0 lead with 6:38 gone from the opening period.
The B’s went on their second power play of the period after Michal Kempny went off for tripping, but once again came up empty-handed.
Washington took its 1-0 edge into the second period thanks in part to a 17-save first period from Holtby.
FAST-PACED SECOND
The second period certainly didn’t lack entertainment thanks to big hits, a near fight and two goals.
Boston killed off two Washington power plays, including one that sent Lars Eller to the box after he and Marchand got tangled up with one another before the near-scrap was broken up by the officials.
Donato finally potted one past Holtby on a glove-side snipe from the in the right face-off circle with 5:49 into the second.
But Ovechkin didn’t let TD Garden celebrate for long, because 39 seconds later Tom Wilson fed him a pass from below the goal line, allowing the winger to send a rocket past Halak for a 2-1 edge.
BOSTON WON’T QUIT
The B’s were determined to get one back, and they did just that when they earned the second power play of the third period.
But just as they did in the second, the Caps sucked the life from TD Garden when they reclaimed the lead less than a minute later when Backstrom beat Halak to give the visitors the 3-2 lead with 14:14 left to play.
Washington put the nail in the coffin when Ovechkin scored the empty-netter for the 4-2 lead.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will take on an Atlantic Division rival when they travel to Toronto for a matchup against the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Puck drop from Scotiabank Arena is set for 7 p.m. ET
This Bruins Wrap is presented by Plainridge Park Casino.
