The Boston Bruins’ drought against the Washington Capitals is over.
Boston peppered Braden Holtby with 38 shots, but only was successful on one attempt. But that one goal was all the Bruins needed as they beat the Capitals 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Capital One Arena. The win halts a 14-game losing streak to the defending Stanley Cup champions that dates back to March 2014.
Tuukka Rask was stellar in net, stopping all 24 shots he faced. The win also gave the netminder the most wins in B’s franchise history, passing Tiny Thompson.
David Krejci had the lone goal for Boston, while Torey Krug and David Pastrnak picked up the assists.Â
With the win, the Bruins improved to 28-17-7, while the Capitals slipped to 28-18-6.
Here’s how it all went down:
SCORELESS AFTER 20
Washington successfully killed off two penalties in the opening 20 minutes to keep the game at zero. The Bruins held the zone for 1:55 of their second man-advantage, but Holtby was a menace.
The Black and Gold put 15 shots on Holtby but couldn’t light the lamp, and the game remained scoreless heading into the second. The Caps had just five shots on net, but Rask made some timely saves to keep Washington off the board.
KREJCI GETS SCORING STARTED
Both Krug and Peter Cehlarik had prime scoring chances for the B’s, but Holtby had other plans. Krug blasted a shot from the high slot before Cehlarik was denied on the doorstep to keep the game scoreless.
The Capitals had a power play near the midway point of the second and watched the puck flirt with the goal line before Rask got it out of the way to help kill the penalty.
Krejci finally found the back of the net with 9:17 left in the middle frame. Krug and Pastrnak set up their teammate with some sweet passing before finding Krejci at the far end of the net for the 1-0 lead.
The B’s continued to outshoot their opponent, putting another 15 shots on net while Washington had seven.
B’S (FINALLY) GET W AGAINST CAPS
Rask continued to stonewall the Capitals throughout the final period, making some big saves to preserve the one-goal lead. But his biggest save, perhaps, came near the halfway mark of the third when Alex Ovechkin fed a pass to Travis Boyd in the slot. He put a shot on net but Rask made a tremendous glove save to keep Washington off the board.
The Caps got a power play with 7:30 left to play when Charlie McAvoy was whistled for hooking, but it became a 4-on-4 just 36 seconds later when T.J. Oshie got nailed for a hooking penalty of his own. Neither team capitalized and the game remained 1-0 in favor of Boston.
Ovechkin and Co. tried to make a late push to tie the game with the Caps’ net empty, but Rask was too much as the B’s were able to sneak away with the 1-0 victory.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will return home to take on the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET.
This Bruins Wrap is presented by Plainridge Park Casino.
