The Washington Capitals are the Boston Bruins’ kryptonite.
The Caps extended their win streak over the B’s to 11 games with a 5-3 victory Thursday night at TD Garden. Alex Chiasson (two goals) and Alex Ovechkin (one goal, one assist) led the way for the Capitals, who are 9-2 in their last 11 games and sit in a first-place tie with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division.
Patrice Bergeron scored twice in the losing effort for Boston.
The Capitals improve to 20-12-1 with the win, while the Bruins fall to 15-10-4.
Here’s how it all went down.
NEARLY SCORED
The Capitals appeared to take an early 1-0 lead when Lars Eller found the back of the net just a few minutes into the game. But the Bruins challenged the play for offsides, and a closer look showed Caps forward Brett Connolly entering the attacking zone before the puck. The B’s won the challenge and the goal was negated.
CAPS STRIKE FIRST
Capitals forward Jakub Vrana put his team up 1-0 with an explosive move through two defenders that, finishing with an accurate wrist shot past B’s goalie Anton Khudobin. It was Vrana’s 10th goal of the season. Matt Niskanen picked up the lone assist on the goal.
BRUINS EQUALIZE
Patrice Bergeron tied the score 1-1 with a power-play goal at 4:22 of the second period. It was his second goal of the season, with assists from Danton Heinen and Brad Marchand.
WASHINGTON TAKES LEAD BACK
The Capitals regained the lead at 12:05 of the second frame when Nicklas Backstrom capitalized on a great pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov for a power-play goal. Backstrom, who now has 36 points in 33 career games versus the B’s, was all alone in front of the net. The tally was assisted by Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin.
CAPITALS IN CONTROL
Caps forward and Boston University product Alex Chiasson put his team in front 3-1 with his fifth goal of the season at 7:52 of the third period. Christian Djoos and John Carlson assisted the goal.
INSURANCE GOAL
Washington put the game out of reach for Boston when Chiasson scored his second goal of the period, with this one coming shorthanded. It’s the second third-period shorthanded goal given up by the B’s in as many nights. The unassisted goal put the Caps up 4-1 with 8:29 left in the third period.
BRUINS FIGHT BACK
The Bruins didn’t go quietly trailing 4-1. They kept attacking, and their persistence was rewarded when center David Krejci scored at 16:20 of the third period. Jake DeBrusk and Charlie McAvoy picked up assists on Krejci’s fifth goal of the season.
LUCKY BOUNCE
With the Bruins net empty, Alex Ovechkin sent a pass off the boards intended for a teammate, but the puck overshot his target and sailed all the way into the net for his league-leading 22nd goal of the season. Those are the types of bounces guys like Ovechkin get. The goal gave the Caps a 5-2 lead with 1:29 left in regulation. Niskanen earned his second assist of the night on Ovi’s goal.
BERGY AGAIN
Bergeron scored his second power-play goal of the night with 26.8 seconds remaining in the third period. The play was challenged for goalie interference, but the original call of “good goal” was upheld.
UP NEXT
The Bruins remain at TD Garden for a Saturday evening matchup with the New York Rangers. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET.
